Falling
by PrincessPatrice
Summary: Tony has an accident at a crime scene leaving him injured. During his hospital stay he gets a visitor, someone he thought he would never see agian. Jenny is still alive in this story. Gibbs/Tony Father/Son
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: None of he characters are mine I'm only borrowing them. This story is based before Jenny was killed._

Chapter 1

It was just another typical day at NCIS. The team was investigating yet another murder. A young Petty Officer had been thrown off a fourth floor balcony and had died on impact. It had happened the night before, but the body was only discovered the following morning by a passing jogger. The jogger called the police, who after arriving at the scene, discovered her ID, so had called NCIS.

"DiNozzo, McGee, check the apartment." Gibbs ordered as they arrived. "David, take the joggers statement. I'll be with the body, waiting for Ducky."

"Yes Boss." They replied together and split to do their tasks.

Tony and McGee took the stairs to the fourth floor and headed for the petty officers apartment.

"Ok McGoo." Tony chided. "You collect evidence, I'll shoot and sketch."

"Fine." McGee sighed and started examining the scene.

10 minutes later McGee was in the bedroom when he heard a gun shot. He quickly drew his weapon and ran to the living room. He found a big muscular man fighting with Tony. The man was holding a gun and Tony was fighting to keep the gun away from him. Tim could see a hole in Tony's shirt surrounded by a dark stain.

"Drop the weapon." McGee ordered, training his gun on the man.

"Shoot him McGee." Tony growled as the man pushed him further away from McGee.

"I won't warn you again." McGee warned. "Drop your weapon."

"McGee." Tony growled again as the man pushed him towards the balcony.

"Drop the weapon." McGee ordered again and when the man continued to struggle McGee fired.

The bullet hit the mans leg. He let out a shout and stumbled against the railing as he continued struggling with Tony. The man was now leaning against the railing holding Tony in front of him so McGee couldn't get a clear shot.

"Let him go." McGee ordered

"Or what?" the man asked gruffly just as they heard a creaking sound.

"Oh shit." the man yelled as the railing came away and man started to fall. He grabbed onto Tony as he fell, bringing Tony with him.

"Tony." McGee yelled running to peer over the balcony. What he saw below nearly made him sick. The man was lying on the ground with his legs twisted at awkward angles and was surrounded by a pool of blood. Tony was laying on top of him un- moving.

McGee ran from the balcony and hurried down the stairs.

"What the hell happened McGee?" Gibbs barked when Tim arrived down.

"I uh, is Tony alright." McGee stuttered.

"He's alive." Gibbs confirmed. "Ducky is checking him. The other guy is dead."

McGee hurriedly explained what happened and then he and Gibbs joined Ziva and Palmer to wait to see what Ducky said.

"The ah, the cop, outside the room is unconscious." McGee said after a minute. "It looks like he was hit on the back of his head."

"I'll get the EMT's to check him after they check Tony." Gibbs sighed. "Where the hell are they?"

"We only rang a minute ago." Ziva said.

"Ducky how is he." Gibbs asked approaching the M.E. who was leaning over Tony.

"He has a gun shot wound to the abdomen." Ducky said moving his hand to show Gibbs. "I can feel an exit wound on his back, but I can't move him until I get a backboard. That was quite some fall and I don't want to make any damage worse by moving him."

"Ok Duck." Gibbs replied. "They should be here in a few minutes."

"The sooner the better." Ducky said. "He has lost quite a bit of blood already."

"Do you think he will be ok Duck?" Gibbs asked quietly.

"I don't know Jethro." Ducky sighed. "If he hadn't landed on this chap, he would be dead. We will have to wait to get him to the hospital. Ah here is the ambulance now."

"About time." Gibbs muttered as the EMT's ran to Tony.

"McGee, David, get back upstairs and finish collecting evidence. Ziva retake all pictures of the scene."

"Yes Gibbs." Ziva replied.

"Yes boss." McGee added and both quickly returned to the apartment, as Tony was loaded onto the backboard.

"Can you go with him Duck?" Gibbs asked "I need to finish up here."

"Yes of course Jethro." Ducky replied. "Mr Palmer, can you bring both our guests back for me?"

"Yes of course Doctor." Palmer replied and started getting the second body ready for transport.

"Call me when you know something." Gibbs said as he started to help Palmer.

"I will." Ducky replied as he climbed into the ambulance.

The team spent the next half an hour going over the crime scene and collecting the evidence. When they had finished they returned to head quarters to start the reports. Ducky had yet to ring with an update on Tony's condition.

"I'll take these down to Abby." McGee said taking the evidence.

"I'll do it McGee." Gibbs said taking the box from the younger agent.

"Boss I." he protested.

"Do you want to be the one to tell Abby about Tony?" Gibbs asked.

"Uh, no boss." Tim replied and went to his desk.

"I thought not." Gibbs said and headed down to the lab.

When he arrived the music was blaring as normal and after several attempts to call Abby, Gibbs moved behind her.

"Abby." He said into her ear, causing the Goth to jump.

"Gibbs." Abby yelped. "Don't sneak up on me."

"I called you, you didn't hear me." Gibbs replied.

"Oh sorry." Abby replied turning down the music. "What can I do for you?"

"I have evidence for you." Gibbs replied handing her the box.

"What's wrong?" Abby asked taking the box and putting it down. "Did something happen?"

"Yeah Abs." Gibbs replied. "There was an accident at the scene."

"Oh God, who got hurt? It was Tony wasn't it?" Abby cried. "It's always him."

"Yeah it's Tony." Gibbs confirmed. "He's been brought to the hospital. Ducky is with him."

"How bad is it?" she asked.

"I don't know. He fell from a fourth floor balcony." Gibbs said. "I'm waiting for Ducky to call with an update."

"Oh Gibbs." Abby cried and threw herself into Gibbs arms.

"He'll be fine Abby." Gibbs assured hugging her tightly. "This is Tony we are talking about. He's going to be ok."

"Of course he is." Abby said pulling away from Gibbs. "Ok from now on positive thoughts only. Now go do your work so we can go visit him."

"I'll let you know as soon as I hear from Ducky." Gibbs said as he left the room.

"You'd better Mister." Abby called after him.

Gibbs went back to his desk and started his report. They were nearly sure the guy who had shot Tony, was the same guy who killed their petty Officer but they had to wait for the evidence to be processed to confirm this.

It was another half an hour before Ducky called. He informed Gibbs that Tony had been taken into surgery to repair the damage from the bullet. He also informed him that Tony had broken his back and there was a possibility that he would be paralysed.

Gibbs then told the others what Ducky said and then went to break the news to Abby.

"He'll be fine Gibbs." Abby assured. "His percentage for surviving the plague was really low and he survived. He'll be fine. If there is the slightest chance he won't be paralysed, then he won't be."

"Hopefully Abs." Gibbs sighed. "Ducky said he should be out of surgery in an hour or so. I'm going to head over there as soon as I'm done here."

"Oh good I'll come with you. Is he in Bethesda?"

"No, University hospital was nearer so they brought him there. We'll get him moved to Bethesda as soon as he's stable."

"That's good, he'll be better off there." Abby agreed and Gibbs went on his way.

The rest of the day passed very slowly for the group. The team had identified the man who had shot Tony as Martin Zarco. He had been involved with Petty Officer Maria Sarsfield and all the evidence showed that he had killed her.

When it was finally time to leave, the entire team and Palmer headed to the hospital.

When they arrived, they were directed to the waiting room where they found Ducky.

"Any news Duck." Gibbs asked.

"I'm afraid not Jethro." Ducky sighed. "He is still in surgery. It has been going on quite a bit longer than expected."

"Have they said anything?" Gibbs asked.

"No, not since after I've spoken to you. It may be that they have to be very careful not to move him too much in case they damage his back any further. Now I'm going to get some coffee."

"Thanks Ducky." Gibbs replied and took a seat.

Half an hour later, one of the surgeons came into the room. "Are you here for Anthony DiNozzo?"

"Yes." Gibbs replied and they all stood up. "How is he?"

"We've managed to stop the bleeding and repair most of the damage." He replied. "The exit wound was very close to the spine and with the fall, we are not sure how it will affect him."

"When will we know?" Ducky asked.

"We will have to wait until he wakes up." The surgeon replied. "The problem is we need to keep him as still as possible and because of the bullet wounds, it would be very painful for him to wear a brace."

"So what are you doing for him?" Gibbs asked.

"We are going to keep him sedated for the time being, to let the wounds heal a bit before we can put him in the brace." He replied "As soon as we have him in the brace we'll let him wake up and see how he is doing."

"How long are you going to keep him sedated?" Ducky asked.

"For the rest of today and tomorrow at least. We will see how the wounds are healing and then we'll decide when we can wake him."

"Ok thank you Doctor." Gibbs replied. "When can we see him?"

"He's in recovery at the moment. We will be moving him to ICU in the next hour. You can visit 2 at a time. Now I'll just warn you he still on the ventilator and we are going to leave him on it until we wake him. With the problems he's had with his lungs we are being cautious."

"Thank you Doctor." Ducky replied.

"I'll send a nurse to get you when we have him settled." The surgeon said as he headed back to Tony.

"At least he's come through the surgery ok." Ducky sighed.

"What about the rest of what he said. What does that mean for Tony?" Gibbs asked.

"Well as I mentioned before he has broken a bone in his back. Now normally to repair this, the patient would be either put in a brace or have the bone fused. In Anthony's case they can't fuse it because of the damage from the bullet. Therefore they need to put him in a brace. Now the brace is generally quite tight to prevent movement and with Anthony's wounds, this will be quite painful so they want to wait as long as possible before putting the brace on."

"Will he walk again?" McGee asked.

"I'm afraid we will have to wait until Anthony is awake to determine that." Ducky sighed. "They did say earlier they could see some damage to the spinal cord but they don't know to what extent."

"Oh poor Tony." Abby sobbed.

"He'll be fine Abbs." Tim assured giving her a hug.

The group spent the next hour waiting patiently to see Tony. A Nurse eventually came to bring them to Tony's room.

"Now only two of you at a time." She said. "And only a few minutes each. 1 person can stay with him after that."

"Ducky you and Palmer can go first." Gibbs said. Ducky nodded his agreement and he and Jimmy went to the room. They returned a few minutes later and McGee and Ziva went in. When they returned it was Abby and Gibbs turn. They quietly opened the door and entered.

"Oh Tony." Abby gasped when she saw him. He was laying in the bed attached to a lot of monitors and machines. There was a sheet covering him from the waist down. His abdomen was covered in a thick layer of bandages and there were leads attached to his chest.

"He's going to ok Abbs." Gibbs assured. "We need to be strong for him."

"I know Gibbs." Abby sighed "I just need a few minutes to breakdown, and then I'll be strong for him."

"Ok Abbs." Gibbs replied. "I'll stay here tonight with him. You go home and get some rest."

"Ok Gibbs." Abby replied as he gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Call me if there is any news."

"I will Abbs, see you tomorrow."

"Night Gibbs." She replied and left the room and headed home with the others.

"What am I going to do with you Tony?" Gibbs sighed as he took a seat beside his agent's bed. "You have to be ok; I need you on my six."

The only response was the sound of the ventilator. Gibbs sighed and made himself as comfortable as possible for the long night ahead.

* * *

_Hope you enjoyed the first chapter. Please review._


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Gibbs woke the following morning when a nurse came to check on Tony. Gibbs groaned as he stretched, his back protesting to a night spent in a chair.

"How is he?" he asked the nurse.

"He's holding his own." She replied with a smile. "His temperature is up slightly but that's to be expected. The doctor will be in soon to check on him."

"Thanks." Gibbs replied and followed her out of the room to get himself some coffee.

He returned after he had a coffee and sat with Tony for another while before he had to go to work. He gave the team a quick update and they all continued working.

That evening they all went to visit Tony and again Gibbs stayed the night. The following day was Saturday so thankfully Gibbs didn't have to work. The doctors had told him that Tony was doing well so they were going to wake him that morning.

They had started weaning him off the ventilator during the night and so far he was doing well. Gibbs went for a quick coffee while he still could.

He returned to find 2 doctors and some nurses in the room.

"What's wrong?" Gibbs asked worriedly.

"Ah Agent Gibbs." One of the doctors greeted. "There's nothing to worry about. We were just getting ready to remove the ventilator."

"Oh." Gibbs replied with a sigh of relief.

"We have reduced his medication so he should be waking up soon and we want to get him off the ventilator before he wakes. We also have the brace on him."

Gibbs gave a quick nod but didn't say anything else.

"Ok let's get this done." The doctor ordered and everyone sprang to action.

Gibbs stood out of the way but watching everything. They had just started removing the tube when Tony's eyes shot open.

"You're in the hospital." The doctor said. "Just, calm down."

Tony kept panicking so Gibbs quickly moved to his side.

"Tony, you're all right, just relax and let the doctors do their thing." Gibbs said taking Tony's hand in his own. "I've got you."

With that Tony relaxed and the doctors finished removing the tube. They quickly placed an oxygen mask over Tony's face and then checked his vitals.

"Ok Tony, just relax for a while." The doctor instructed as he walked away.

"You can go back to sleep for a while Tony." Gibbs said. "I've got your six."

Tony nodded slightly and closed his eyes. Within minutes he was fast asleep again. Over the next 2 hours the nurses' checked on him continuously, to make sure he was still breathing ok. Gibbs remained by his side in case he woke again. Tony eventually started waking and Gibbs called the Doctors.

"Hey Tony, can you hear me." Gibbs called.

"Mmm." Tony replied, his eyes still closed.

"Come on Tony open your eyes for me."

Tony's eyes slowly opened and he looked up at Gibbs. "What happened?"

"You got shot Tony." Gibbs replied. "You're going to be fine."

"When can I…go home?" Tony asked reaching to remove the oxygen mask.

"Leave that alone." Gibbs scolded, gently stopping Tony's hand. "You're going to be here for a while Tony."

"How bad?" Tony asked pulling the oxygen mask off.

"The bullet didn't do too much damage." The doctor explained. "We were able to repair the damage it caused. The exit wound was close to your spine and this has caused some issues."

"What issues." Tony asked starting to panic.

"Tony calm down." Gibbs said. "You fell from the balcony. Do you remember that?"

Yeah." Tony replied after a minute. "I remember falling."

"Well you broke a bone in your back. Because of the bullet they couldn't fuse it so you are going to have to wear a back brace for a while."

"Oh ok." Tony sighed in relief. "I'm not paralysed?"

"Can you wiggle your toes for us Tony." The Doctor asked as he pulled up the sheet and examined Tony's feet.

"They're not wiggling are they?" Tony asked quietly after a minute or two.

"No Tony, they're not." The Doctor sighed. "I'm going to move my pen up your leg and I want you to tell me when you can feel it."

"Ok." Tony replied and the Doctor started moving the pen. He was up to Tony's hip before Tony felt the pen.

"What does this mean?" Gibbs asked squeezing Tony's hand.

"It most likely means that there is still some swelling pushing against the nerves. We can see no major damage to the spinal cord, so this should be temporary. The damage we saw earlier was just swelling caused by the bullet."

"Are you sure." Gibbs asked.

"We can't be sure." The doctor sighed. "I was hoping that there would be at least some feeling in Tony's legs, even if there was no movement. We'll keep him in the back brace to restrict movement and try again in a few days."

"Oh God." Tony moaned closing his eyes.

"You are going to be fine Tony." Gibbs said. "You just have to be patient."

"What am I supposed to do if I can't walk?" Tony asked sadly. "I can't be a field agent, I can't go undercover, and I'll be useless."

"Tony, you are going to walk again." Gibbs assured. "This is temporary. You will be back in the field in a few months."

"But what if I'm not." Tony asked quietly.

"Then we'll deal with it." Gibbs assured as he replaced the oxygen mask over Tony's face. "Now go back to sleep."

"K boss." Tony replied as his eyes slid closed.

When Gibbs was sure Tony was asleep he quietly got up and followed the doctor outside. "Do you think he'll walk again?"

"I think he should." The doctor replied. "We need to keep him positive, but I do think that he will start to get feeling back as soon as the swelling starts to go down. Because of the fall and the bullet wound, there is quite a bit of swelling."

"Ok Doc." Gibbs sighed and headed started to head back to the room.

"Agent Gibbs." A voice called causing him to turn around.

"Miss Benoit." He said taking in the sight of a very pregnant Jeanne.

"What are you doing here?" she asked as he stared at her bump.

"I could ask you the same thing. I thought you had left Washington." Gibbs replied.

"No I came back when I found out I was pregnant. I'm working here again" Jeanne replied.

"How far along are you?" Gibbs asked as he again looked at her bump.

"You could just ask if the baby is Tony's"

"Is it?"

"Yes it is. I found out I was pregnant after my fathers funeral." Jeanne sighed. "Tony had told me he had no real feelings for me, so I decided not to tell him."

"He did have real feelings for you." Gibbs sighed "He told you that so you could move on. He loved you."

"It doesn't matter now." Jeanne sighed. "So what are you doing here?"

"Tony was hurt." Gibbs sighed "he's in here."

"Oh God, is he ok." She gasped.

"He was shot." Gibbs sighed "He also fell 4 stories and has broken his back."

"Oh God, is…is he paralysed."

"He can't move his legs and has no feeling in them, but they think it's temporary because of swelling."

"Oh that's good." She sighed in relief.

"He's asleep if you want to see him." Gibbs said pushing the door open.

Jeanne gave Gibbs a nervous smile and entered the room.

"Oh Tony" she cried when she saw him

"He's going to be fine." Gibbs assured leading the pregnant woman nearer to Tony. "He's survived worse."

"Like what." She asked. "I've seen all his scars and some looked pretty serious."

"Well he's been shot and stabbed a few times, but he's also had the plague."

"The plague." Jeanne said

"Yup, it was genetically engineered to be resistant to antibiotics." Gibbs said. "We nearly lost him, but he's tough and he recovered. He'll recover from this too."

"I hope your right." Jeanne sighed. "Do you want to get some coffee?"

"Yeah sure." He agreed and followed her out of the room. They walked to the cafeteria in silence and both got some coffee.

"When are you due?" Gibbs asked when they had sat down.

"In 4 weeks." Jeanne replied with a smile. "I asked him to come with me you know."

"When?" Gibbs asked.

"Just after his car was blown up. I left him a note at my apartment. He never contacted me so I assumed he didn't want to be with me. I told him it was me or NCIS."

"Jeanne, how much do you know of Tony's childhood." Gibbs asked.

"I don't know if what he told me was true or not." She sighed. "At the time he didn't tell me much but from what I gathered it wasn't the happiest. When I saw all the scars on his body I thought he may have been abused as a child."

"Tony's father is a very wealthy man, even more so than your father. Tony's mother died when he was 10. Both parents drank a lot and Tony was mostly raised by the help. He was disowned at 12 and sent to military school. While I have no proof he was abused, I have a feeling that he was. Tony's only family is NCIS. It's the longest he has ever stayed in one place, so for you to ask him to choose would have been hard. I do know he wasn't himself for quite a while after you left."

"He told me he loved me, He asked me to move in with him." Jeanne sighed. "I believed him."

"Jeanne, if he said that, then it is true. Tony was never good at relationships, he never stayed with a woman long enough to develop feelings. He would not use those words lightly. His feelings for you were real."

"Do you think I should tell him about the baby?" Jeanne asked.

"That's up to you. If it were mine I'd like to know. And I know you think Tony is too immature to handle a baby, but he might surprise you."

"I never thought he was immature." Jeanne protested. "Maybe a little crazy at time and ok sometimes when he talked about films he sounded like a kid, but I liked that about him."

"Yeah its one of his many quirks." Gibbs smiled.

"How does he know so much about films?" Jeanne asked. "It made sense at the time because he said he was a film professor."

"He loves movies." Gibbs replied. "He spent hours watching them as a child. And even now he'll watch them every chance he gets. He talks about them non - stop and everything that comes up, he has a film reference to go with it."

"Yeah that sounds like the Tony I know." Jeanne laughed.

"He's saved our asses a few times with the film references." Gibbs laughed. "Hell he even got me doing it at times."

"Really." Jeanne laughed.

"Yeah a few years back we were on Air Force One. Tony had made me watch the movie about Air Force One a few weeks previous and because of the film we figured out what was going on and saved the president."

"Wow." Jeanne smiled. "Saving the president, getting the plague, what other insane things have you and Tony done."

"There's a lot." Gibbs smiled.

"I don't know him at all." Jeanne sighed. "I know Tony DiNardo the Film Professor not Tony DiNozzo the NCIS special agent. How different are those two people."

"They are not very different at all." Gibbs smiled and stood up. "I'd better get back to him in case he wakes."

"Do you think he would want to see me after everything?" Jeanne asked following him.

"Yeah I think he would." Gibbs replied and they both went back to Tony's room.

"Dr. Benoit what are you doing here." Dr. Philips, Tony's surgeon asked as she entered.

"Tony's a friend." She replied and walked beside the bed. "How's he doing?"

"As well as can be expected." Dr. Philips replied. "His temperature is up slightly but nothing to worry about just yet."

"What about paralysis." She asked.

"Hopefully just temporary. There is a lot of swelling."

"That's good." She sighed tiredly.

"Would you like to sit down?" Gibbs asked moving the chair beside her.

"Yes thank you." She replied and took a seat. "Why is he on oxygen?"

"He has a lot of scaring on his lungs so he needs the extra help." Dr. Philips explained

"From the plague." Jeanne said quietly.

"Yes." Dr. Philips agreed. "We are going to keep him on oxygen for a while. We'll be changing the mask for the nasal canuala shortly."

"Good." She replied "I'm going to stay here with him for a while."

"Is that ok with you Agent Gibbs." Dr. Philips asked.

"Yeah sure." Gibbs replied and pulled over another chair.

"I'll be back in a while." Philips said as he left the room.

"He looks so young when he's sleeping." Jeanne said as she watched Tony sleep.

"Yeah he sure does." Gibbs agreed. "He always reminds me of a kid when he's sleeping, he looks so peaceful."

"He has a lot of nightmare." Jeanne said with a quick glance at Gibbs.

"I've noticed that too. He never talks about them."

"No he doesn't." Jeanne sighed and looked at Gibbs. "I think I still love him, I don't think I ever stopped. I was so angry when my father died that I blamed Tony. But I know he was just protecting me."

"You should tell him that." Gibbs said. "But don't try to take him away from us. We won't stand for that and while I know Tony hurt you, you hurt him too."

"I know." She sighed and they both lapsed into silence.

About 10 minutes later they heard a moan coming from Tony. They both stood and rushed to his side.

"Hey Tony it's ok just relax." Gibbs said softly.

Tony stilled and slowly pealed open his eyes. "Hey boss." He croaked.

"Would you like some ice chips?" Gibbs asked and Tony nodded. "Ok I'll go get you some. You two can talk."

Tony slowly moved his eyes to the other person standing near him. "Jeanne." He gasped.

"Yeah Tony, it's me." She replied moving nearer

"What are you doing here." He asked as he reached to remove the oxygen mask.

"Leave that on Tony, you need it." Jeanne scolded and moved his hand back down. "I'm back working here. I came back after I last saw you."

"Oh." Tony replied. "I'm sorry about everything that happened."

"It's ok Tony. We'll talk about it later, when you're feeling better."

"You'll still be here?" Tony asked.

"I'm not going anywhere." She replied gently stroking his face.

"That's good." Tony smiled as Gibbs returned.

Jeanne removed the oxygen mask and Gibbs fed Tony a spoonful of ice.

"That was good." Tony replied as Jeanne replaced the mask.

"Get some rest Tony." Gibbs said.

"I have to get back to work." Jeanne said and after giving Tony's hand a squeeze, she headed for the door.

"Jeanne." Tony gasped as he saw her bump. "You're pregnant."

"Yeah Tony, I am." She replied with a smile and walked out of the room.

"I thought I was over her." Tony said sadly as the door closed. "But seeing her again brought back all those feelings. And now she's pregnant."

"It's going to be ok Tony." Gibbs assured "get some rest and we can talk about it later."

"Yeah ok." Tony agreed and closed his eyes. "I just hate that she met someone else already." He added just as he fell asleep.

A few hours later Abby, Ziva and McGee arrived for a visit so Gibbs took the opportunity to go home and have a shower.

"Hey Tony." Abby called, waking him up.

"Hey Abby." He mumbled slowly opening his eyes. "Hey guys."

"Hello Tony, how are you felling?" Ziva asked.

"Sore." Tony replied

"Should I get the doctor?" McGee asked.

"Na, I'm ok Probie." Tony replied with a smile.

"Look Tony, I ah...I'm sorry I didn't shoot sooner." McGee stuttered.

"It's ok Probie." Tony replied with a smile, "I'll be fine, nothing to worry about. How's everything at work?"

"It is quite." Ziva replied. "We are reviewing cold cases at the moment."

"Sorry." Tony apologised.

"It is not your fault." Ziva replied. "The director decided we needed a break."

"Yeah I'm sure." Tony agreed sarcastically.

The team had just settled down in some chairs when the nurse arrived in.

"I'm sorry guys, would you mind stepping out for a few minutes. I need to check Tony's wounds."

"Yes of course." Ziva replied and the group left the room and waited in the hallway.

"I thought he'd hate me." McGee said as he sunk down in one of the chairs. "He could be paralysed and it's my fault."

"He is going to be fine." Abby said "And of course he wouldn't blame you. He knows you did everything you could."

"That's the thing Abby. I hesitated, I should have shot the guy sooner. Tony told me to."

"Why didn't you?" Ziva asked,

"He was moving a lot and I didn't want to hit Tony."

"I'm sure Tony knows that." Ziva said.

"I hope so." Tim sighed.

10 minutes later the nurse came out. "You can go back into him now, but he may be a bit groggy. You can give him some ice chips if he wants, but nothing else."

"Ok thank you." Abby replied and rushed back into the room.

Tony was still lying flat on his back but the oxygen mask had been replaced by a nasal cannula.

"We're back Tony." Abby said quietly.

"Hey guys." Tony replied opening his eyes. "They took off the mask."

"Yeah we can see." Abby replied. "The nurse said we could give you some ice chips if you wanted."

"Yeah that'd be good." Tony replied.

"Ok Tony, open up." Abby instructed as she held the spoon to Tony's lips.

Tony opened his mouth and let the ice slid in. "Mmm s'good." Tony said as it soothed his throat.

"Would you like some more." Abby asked and Tony gave a slight nod.

Abby again filled the spoon and Tony swallowed the ice.

"That's all for now Tony." She said. "Get some rest."

"Thanks guys." Tony mumbled sleepily and closed his eyes.

The group waited until Gibbs returned before leaving. Tony remained asleep for the rest of the night, not even waking when a nurse came to take blood.

* * *

_A/N: Thank you so much for all the reviews They are great. Please keep them coming._


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Gibbs again stayed the night and woke the following morning when breakfast arrived.

"Good morning Agent Gibbs." Dr. Philips greeted. "How's Tony this morning?"

"He's still asleep." Gibbs replied as he stretched. "Can he start eating today?"

"Yeah, but nothing too heavy. I had them bring you some breakfast too."

"Thanks." Gibbs replied "Should we wake him?"

"Yes of course. I'm just going to take some readings and you can wake him if that's ok."

"Sure. Hey Tony, time to wake up." Gibbs called. "Breakfast is here."

"Mmm hey boss." Tony replied groggily.

"Hey Tony. Dr. Philips says you can eat today if you feel up to it."

"Yeah ok." Tony replied.

"Ok Tony." Dr. Philips said. "Everything is looking good. The nurse will be here in a minute and then we can sit you up a little bit."

"K." Tony replied.

The nurse arrived a minute later pushing a trolley. "Ok Tony this will just take a few minutes then we can sit you up."

"What are you doing?" Tony asked as they started removing the sheet that was covering him.

"We're just getting you ready so you don't have any accidents." The nurse replied cheerfully.

"Hold on a minute." Tony interrupted. "What do you mean by that?"

"You don't have control over your muscles so you can't control when you need to go to the toilet." The nurse replied.

"You're…you're putting a…a diaper on me." Tony asked hesitantly.

"Yes." She replied.

"I'm not wearing a diaper." Tony protested. "Boss please, I can't."

"Hey Tony, its ok." Gibbs assured. "It's just until you get feeling back."

"No please." Tony cried and started panicking. "I don't want to…please don't make me."

Dr. Philips lowered the sheets back over his patient. "Calm down Tony please. You need to take deep breaths." He said as he increased the oxygen.

After a few minutes Tony had his breathing back under control and Dr. Philips continued. "If you eat you'll eventually need to relieve yourself and without control over the muscles you'd make a mess."

"Fine I won't eat." Tony said

"Tony, be realistic." Dr. Philips said "You need to eat to get your strength back up."

"I'll stick to a liquid diet." Tony said. "The catheter can stay in and do its thing."

"Tony just because it's a liquid died doesn't mean you won't have to poop." Gibbs said. "Babies still poop and all they drink is milk."

"Look we'll leave it for now." Dr. Philips said "stick to ice chips for now and the IV's will keep you going for a while."

"Thanks." Tony replied in relief as the doctor left the room. "I'm sorry boss."

"Its ok Tony I understand." Gibbs assured. "Now I'm going to eat my breakfast I hope you don't mind."

"No its fine." Tony sighed.

The rest of the morning passed in silence. Tony was too embarrassed to talk and Gibbs wanted to give Tony a chance to get his head around things. Ducky and Palmer came to visit after lunch but Tony fell asleep while they were there. Gibbs used that time to ask Ducky a few things about Tony's condition.

"If Tony doesn't regain the use of his legs will he have to wear a diaper?"

"While a lot of paraplegics use adult diapers, most choose not to. They manage their waste material by being on a strict diet and by remaining on a very specific schedule. They would use a catheter a few times a day to drain the bladder and then at a certain time each day they would use a suppository to clear their bowels. But of course accidents might still occur, especially at night, so some wear them at night. Has something happened Jethro?"

"They tried to put a diaper on him today and he freaked out." Gibbs explained. "He refused to wear one, so now he won't eat."

"Ah I see." Ducky replied with a sigh. "I do hope for his sake that the feeling in his legs comes back sooner rather than later. It is still going to be quite awkward for him to use the facilities on his own while he remains in the back brace."

"Is there anything we can do to make this easier on him?"

"We can only be there for him and try not to pay any attention to his embarrassment. If he needs help with something which he may be embarrassed about, we have to show we are not embarrassed."

"Ok Duck Thanks." Gibbs replied and they returned to Tony's room.

Later that day Gibbs was again sitting in silence when some nurses arrived to give Tony a bed bath.

"Do you want me to leave?" Gibbs asked.

"Um you can stay if you want." Tony replied hesitantly.

"Sure." Gibbs replied and remained seated. The nurses quickly, but gently washed Tony. They started by washing his hair and giving him a shave. After they washed his upper half they lifted up the sheets and washed his legs. Tony tensed as soon as they removed the sheet and didn't relax until it was replaced.

"The Doctor will be in soon to check the dressings." The nurse said as they left the room.

"You all right Tony?" Gibbs asked.

"Yeah boss." Tony sighed. "It's just weird not being able to feel what they're doing."

"I'm sure it is." Gibbs agreed. "But these are things they have to do. There will be lots of things they have to do to get you better, that you may not like, but have to be done."

"I know boss." Tony sighed. "It's embarrassing. I don't have control of anything down there."

"I know Tony, but even if you did, with that brace on you'd still need help cleaning up after going to the toilet. You won't have much movement."

"Oh God." Tony sighed. "How long am I going to be in the brace?"

"I don't know Tony but its going to be for a few weeks."

"Oh god, I'm going to starve."

"Hello Tony, how are you doing?" Dr. Philips asked as he walked in

"Fine." Tony replied.

"Good. Now we need to change your bandages and clean the wounds." Dr. Philips explained. "We are going to roll you onto your side and then remove the back section of the brace and then we'll roll your back and tend to the wound on the front. While we are doing this do not try to move on your own. This could damage your back further."

"Ok." Tony agreed

When they had everything ready they prepared to roll Tony.

"Ok everyone on three." Dr. Philips said. "One, two, three."

"Arghhh." Tony cried as they moved him.

"I'm sorry Tony. We'll do this as quickly as possible." The nurse assured.

Gibbs quickly moved to Tony's side and grabbed his hand. "It's all right Tony I'm here." Gibbs assured.

"Hurts." Tony moaned.

"I know Tony, I know." Gibbs replied giving Tony's hand another squeeze.

"We're nearly done." Dr. Philips assured

"It stings." Tony moaned as they cleaned the wound.

"Nearly done. Just going to replace the brace now." Dr. Philips said and snapped the brace shut. He grabbed a syringe and after cleaning a spot on Tony's butt he injected its contents into Tony.

"Ow." Tony complained. "You could have warned me."

"Tony, did you feel the injection." The doctor asked.

"Yeah." Tony replied with a groan.

"That's good, now we are going to turn you back over. On three. One, two, three."

"Arghh." Tony cried again.

"Ok Tony that's the worst part over."

They removed the front section of the brace and quickly cleaned and redressed the wound.

"Ok Tony we're done." Dr. Philips said. "Sally can you turn up the oxygen a bit please."

"Yes of course Doctor" one of the nurses replied and proceeded to increase the oxygen and then adjusted the nasal canulla.

"Ok Tony nice easy breaths." He instructed.

Tony did as told and got his breathing under control.

"Good Tony." The doctor praised. "Now I'm just going to run my pen along your leg and I want you to tell me when you can feel it."

Tony gave a quick nod and Dr. Philips started moving the pen.

"There." Tony gasped when he felt the pen on the top of his thigh.

"Good Tony. This is a big improvement. I want to do another scan tomorrow to see how things are progressing."

"Ok." Tony replied.

"Good, now I've spoken to Dr. Pitt regarding your lungs. He's going to be here tomorrow to have a look. He knows the normal condition of them so I want to get his opinion."

"Cool." Tony replied with a grin. "Can't wait to see him."

"Good. Now how's the pain."

"It's fine. Just don't move me again."

"We are going to have to sit you up for a while tomorrow." Dr. Philips said. "It will be a bit uncomfortable but I'm afraid it has to be done."

"Ok." Tony sighed. "Whatever gets me out of here quicker"

"Eating would help with that." Dr. Philips said. "I know you don't want to wear a diaper but when you do get feeling back, you are still going to have to use a bedpan."

"I know." Tony sighed and relented. "Fine do what you have to."

"Ok Tony." The doctor smiled "I'll get the nurses to set you up and I'll get some dinner brought in."

"K." Tony replied as they left.

2 minutes later 2 nurses arrived in and started getting Tony ready. Tony closed his eyes and Gibbs turned his back to the nurses and faced Tony, who was holding his hand. A few minutes later they finished and after fixing the sheet they left.

"They're done Tony." Gibbs said softly.

Tony opened his eyes to find them gone. "oh." He said and tears welled up in his eyes.

"It's ok Tony." Gibbs said as he stroked Tony forehead. "Just let it out I'm here."

Tony let out and strangled sob and the tears rolled down his face.

"It's alright Tony." Gibbs soothed and let the younger man cry.

A few minutes later Tony stopped crying and swiped at his eyes with the back of his hand. "Sorry boss." He mumbled.

"Nothing to be sorry about Tony." Gibbs assured as the door opened.

A nurse came in with two trays, one for Tony and one for Gibbs.

"Ok sweetie." She said. "We need to raise your head up a little bit so you can eat."

"Ok." Tony agreed as the nurse gently lifted his head and slid another pillow under him.

"Now there we go." She said. "We can't move you any higher for the moment and it's going to be hard to feed yourself in that position so I'll help you."

"No that's ok." Tony protested.

"You won't be able to manage it on your own." The nurse said kindly.

"I'll help him if he needs it." Gibbs interrupted.

"Ok." The nurse agreed "I'll be back in a while."

Gibbs moved the table over Tony and put it as low as it would go. "Ok Tony here you go. Let me know if you need help."

Tony tried his best to eat the soup and crackers. The crackers were fine but he couldn't seem to get the soup to his mouth without spilling it.

"Ah boss." Tony said quietly.

Gibbs took the spoon from the bowl without saying a word and helped Tony eat.

"Thanks boss, I'm full." Tony said eventually.

"Ok Tony, no problem." Gibbs replied and moved the tray away and then finished his own dinner.

"Hey boss." Tony called after a while.

"Yeah Tony." Gibbs replied

"Do you think you could maybe bring me in some pizza tomorrow?"

"You barley managed 2/3 a bowl of soup. I don't think you could manage a pizza." Gibbs said with a smile.

"Ok the next day." Tony bargained.

"We'll see Tony." Gibbs smirked. "You need to start eating properly then I'll think about it."

"Thanks boss." Tony replied and relaxed.

The nurse returned a few minutes later and lay Tony back down. She gave his diaper a quick check, much to Tony's embarrassment and then left with the trays.

"You should go home and get some rest boss." Tony said after a while. "Sitting here with me can't be much fun."

"I'm fine here DiNozzo, unless you don't want me here."

"No, I want you here." Tony replied quickly. "I just don't want you to feel you have to stay. I'll be fine on my own."

"I know you would Tony. But I don't want you on your own."

"Thanks boss." Tony replied and closed his eyes.

Tony quickly fell asleep and didn't even wake when the nurses changed his IV and changed his diaper.

They even brought in a fold out bed for Gibbs to sleep in.

* * *

_A/N: Thank you so much for all the great reviews. They are really appreciated. Keep em coming._


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The following morning Tony woke as he felt some standing over him.

"Good morning." A nurse greeted. "I'm just taking your vitals, nothing to worry about."

"Ok." Tony mumbled and closed his eyes again falling back to sleep.

The next time he woke it was to the sound of whispering voices nearby. Tony opened his eyes and looked at the figures. He could see the back of Gibbs but not much else. He closed his eyes again, trying to listen. The whispering stopped and he could hear the group moving beside his bed. He slowly opened his eyes.

"Morning Tony." Gibbs greeted. "Dr. Pitt is here and he and Dr. Philips want to have a look at you."

"Hey Tony." Brad greeted. "You can never stay out of trouble can you?"

"Nope, it's part of my charm. And I don't do these things to myself. I for one didn't tackle my own leg and break it."

"You were in the way." Brad protested for the millionth time. "You were about to win the game and I couldn't let that happen."

"Yeah well." Tony sighed. "So what do you need me to do?"

"For the moment, you just need to lie there and let us do all the work." Brad replied and pulled out his stethoscope. "I'm just going to have a listen to your lungs."

"Sure." Tony replied as Brad started the examination.

"I'm afraid I'm going to need to roll you onto your side for a minute." Brad said after a while."

"Great." Tony sighed.

Gently the two Doctors and Gibbs rolled Tony onto his side and held him there while Brad listened to his breathing. They then rolled him back.

"So what's the… prognoses doc?" Tony asked as he steadied his breathing

"How does your chest feel Tony?" Brad asked.

"A bit tight." Tony admitted

"Have you been coughing much?"

"No, just once or twice after I woke up. It hurt, a lot." Tony replied.

"Yeah I'm sure it did." Brad replied. "There seems to be a bit of congestion in your lungs. Being under anaesthetic can cause this and lying down flat can make it worse, and you seem to be taking fairly shallow breaths."

"Yeah well the brace is tight." Tony said.

"I know." Brad assured. "It's not your fault Tony. We are going to take some x-rays in a while to see how everything is. Later we are going to get you to sit up for a while."

"If your back has healed enough we want to fuse the broken bone." Dr. Philips continued. "If we can do this it means you won't have to lie flat as much and we can take off the brace."

"Will it help me get back the feeling in my legs" Tony asked.

"No." Brad sighed. "The swelling has to go down on its own. The surgery may even make the swelling worse."

"Great." Tony sighed closing his eyes.

"We're going to do our very best to minimize the swelling." Dr. Philips added "And we're not going to do it if we think it could cause and further damage."

"But if you don't do it, my lungs could get worse because I'm lying down so much." Tony said looking from one doctor to the other.

"Yeah pretty much." Brad said. "Look it's up to you but I'd prefer to get you into surgery as soon as possible."

"Ok." Tony sighed. "I trust you; do whatever you think is best."

"Ok Tony." Brad replied. "First things first we need to get the x-rays before we do anything. You can relax for a while and have something to eat. We'll come back to get you when we are ready."

"Yeah alright thanks." Tony replied with a sigh as the 2 Doctors left.

"You ok." Gibbs asked.

"I'll be fine." Tony replied turning his head to look at his boss. "This is just so screwed up."

"I know Tony." Gibbs replied with a sigh. "They want to do what's best for you."

"Boss, what about my job, am I still going to be able to do it with my back fused."

"Yeah Tony, I asked Dr. Philips and he said it shouldn't cause any problems." Gibbs assured. "It's going to be fine Tony."

"I hope so." He sighed and again closed his eyes.

A nurse brought in some breakfast and again Gibbs helped Tony to eat his and then he ate his own. Tony had fallen asleep by the time they were ready to take him to x-ray. They moved him as gently as they could so as not to wake him. He stayed asleep through the x-ray and through the nurses changing him. Gibbs went for some coffee while they were doing all this and when he returned Tony was still fast asleep.

After another hour Tony was still asleep and Gibbs was starting to get worried. He was just about to go find a doctor when Brad and Dr. Philips arrived in.

"He's been asleep a long time." Gibbs said

"We gave him a sedative when we brought him to x-ray." Brad explained. "We didn't want him waking up in the middle of it."

"So what's the verdict?"

"He has pneumonia and his lungs are getting worse." Brad said. "Preferably I'd like to get him into surgery straight away. The sooner we can get him propped up to sleep the better."

"But we are going to hold off until tomorrow." Dr. Philips continued. "The swelling has gone down a bit, but to be safe we want to give it another day. We are going to sit him up for a bit as soon as he wakes."

"We are going to have him do some breathing exercises later today." Brad explained. "This should help his lungs a bit. We are also going to start him on steroids after the surgery. We'll use a mask so that he can breathe them in."

"Ok." Gibbs sighed. "I'll tell him when he wakes."

"I'm awake." Tony said softly.

"Hey." Brad said. "How much of that did you hear?"

"All of it." Tony sighed opening his eyes.

"Ok good." Dr. Philips said. "Now, how about we get you sitting up and you can have some lunch."

"Yeah ok." Tony agreed.

The two Doctors moved to either side of Tony and raised the bed slightly and helped him sit up.

"How's that Tony?" Dr. Philips asked.

"Hurts." Tony moaned

"It's going to be uncomfortable for a few minutes." Dr Philips said "Just breathe through it and you'll be fine."

"Can't … breathe." Tony gasped as the alarms from the monitors started beeping franticly.

"Ok Tony we are going to lower you a bit." Brad said as they quickly adjusted the bed so Tony was lying back further.

"How's that." Brad asked.

"Bit better." Tony gasped. "Still hurts… but I can…. Breathe easier."

"Ok Tony." Dr. Philips said. "We are going to leave you sitting up for 15 minutes. Eat your lunch and then you can lie back down. Call us if there are any problems"

"Ok." Tony groaned.

A nurse arrived a few minutes later with food for both Tony and Gibbs.

Tony could manage himself and quickly ate everything and waited for the doctors to return, so he could lie back down. Gibbs watched Tony as he ate his own food and noticed his agent seemed to be in quite some pain. When they had both finished Gibbs pressed the buzzer and Brad and Dr. Philips returned.

"How are you feeling now Tony?" Dr. Philips asked

"Can I lie back down?" Tony asked avoiding the question.

"We just need you to do your breathing exercises first." Brad said handing Tony a plastic object. "This is the same thing you used before. Just breathe in and make the 3 plastic balls go to the bottom and then breath out and make them go to the top."

"Ok." Tony replied and moved it to his mouth. He let out a breath and took a deep breath. He managed to get one ball down to the end but the others barley moved.

"Ok Tony, now breathe out." Brad instructed

Tony did as instructed and managed to get 2 of the balls to go to the top.

"Very good Tony." Brad praised as Tony moved the device away from his mouth. "How did that feel?"

"It hurt more breathing in." Tony admitted.

"Ok I need you to do that at least 4 more times and repeat it every hour when you are awake."

"5 times, every hour." Tony whined.

"Yes for the moment." Brad said. "Now we are also going to use a mechanical chest vibrator to help you cough and loosen secretions."

"A vibrator." Tony laughed. "That sounds so wrong Doc."

"Be that as it may." Brad grinned. "It will help you clear your lungs. We are going to do that later this evening. So how about you finish your breathing exercises and you can lie down."

"Ok." Tony agreed and reluctantly continued the breathing exercises.

5 minutes later he had finished and they helped him lie back down. Dr. Philips administered some pain killers and Tony fell asleep.

"He's going to be asleep for a while." Brad said. "You should take a break."

"Yeah I'll go get some coffee." Gibbs said.

"Do you mind if I join you?" Brad asked

"Not at all." Gibbs replied and they both left the room. They bypassed the coffee stand outside the hospital and instead went to a small café nearby. When they had their coffee, they sat down at a table away from everyone else.

"The next few weeks are going to be tough for him." Brad said breaking the silence

"Yeah." Gibbs agreed with a sigh and took a sip of the coffee.

"He's going to need help Gibbs." Brad said after he had some of his coffee.

"And he'll have it." Gibbs assured "He's going to be staying with me when he gets out of the hospital. I have time due to me so I'll be off work."

"What about while he's still in the hospital?" Brad asked

"I've taken some time this week, Abby is also taking some. Ziva and McGee have said they'll take some time next week. He's not going to be left alone."

"That's good to hear." Brad said. "He is going to need his friends around him. With the bone fused he should be up and around a lot quicker, if he gets the feeling back in his legs."

"He will." Gibbs assured. "What about his lungs, how are they going to be after this?"

"They should be fine unless the pneumonia gets worse. That's why I have him doing the breathing exercises. If he keeps doing them it should help prevent the spread of the pneumonia."

"I'll make sure he does them."

"Good. After the surgery it will be very painful for him to cough, but he needs to do it to clear his lungs. We'll help him as best as we can to do this, but it's not going to be pleasant."

"So if he does all this he'll be ok."

"Well it will lessen his chances of getting worse." Brad sighed "But unfortunately because his lungs are so scarred already, he is at greater risk. We need to do everything we can to decrease that risk."

"You just tell us what needs to be done and we'll do it."

"That's good to know." Brad replied as he finished off his coffee. "I better get back I have a few things to do before I go back to Bethesda. I'll be back here this evening."

They both went back to the hospital, Gibbs returned to Tony's room and Brad went to the Doctors lounge.

Gibbs sat quietly by his agent's bed for the next 2 hours. Tony only woke when Abby came running through the door.

"Easy Abby." Gibbs scolded "He's sleeping."

"'M awake now." Tony mumbled.

"Tony." Abby squealed running to him and giving him a gentle hug. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm ok Abbs." Tony assured "How are you?"

"I'm fine, I miss you. You have to get better and come back. Its way too quite without you."

"I'm working on it." Tony replied with a grin. "They are operating tomorrow to fuse the bone. So I'll be back on my feet soon."

"That's great Tony. McGee and Ziva will be calling soon and I think Jimmy and Ducky said they would call later."

"Cool." Tony replied.

"I'm going to get some coffee." Gibbs said standing up. "I'll be back in a while."

"Aw Gibbs is gone all Papa Bear on you that's so sweet." Abby gushed when Gibbs had left.

"Yeah, he's been here the whole time." Tony smiled softly. "He must have taken time off work."

"Yeah, I think he did" she agreed "I'm going to take a few days off at the end of the week and I can keep you company."

"You don't have to Abbs."

"I know but I want to."

"Thanks Abby." Tony smiled.

The two friends spent the next half hour chatting until Ziva and McGee arrived.

"Hello Tony." They greeted. "We've brought you some presents."

"Wow, thanks guys you shouldn't have." Tony grinned. "What did you get me?"

"We got you some magazines." Ziva said pulling them out of a bag and putting them on the locker beside Tony. "We got you grapes."

"Grapes." Tony grinned.

"Yes Tim said that is a custom." Ziva explained

"Well uh… not really a custom…We just." McGee stuttered. "It's just something my family always do."

"I love grapes, thanks." Tony assured with a grin.

"We also brought you some chocolate." Tim added

"Thanks guys." Tony grinned.

It was another half an hour before Gibbs returned looking refreshed. He was accompanied by Ducky and Palmer.

"Hey guys." Tony greeted.

"Hello Anthony, how are you feeling?" Ducky asked.

"I'm ok Duck." Tony assured.

"Hey Tony I brought you some books." Jimmy said pulling some from a bag and handing them to Tony.

"Oh wow these are great." Tony said as he looked through them.

"Tony doesn't read books." Ziva laughed.

"Why wouldn't I?" Tony asked

"Well, you do not." Ziva said. "I have never seen you read them."

"He reads all the time." Jimmy defended his friend. "He just doesn't read them at work."

"Oh." Ziva replied quietly. "I am sorry Tony. I did not mean anything by it."

"It's fine Ziva." Tony replied. "So how's work, what am I missing."

The group spent the next half hour filling Tony in on the happenings of NCIS.

They were finally kicked out when the nurse arrived with Tony's dinner. Again Tony was sat up for a while and it didn't hurt as badly this time. A short time after the dinner was finished; Brad arrived in with a strange looking contraption.

"What is that?" Tony asked.

"This is going to help clear your lungs." Brad explained "When you had the plague we helped clear your lungs by hitting you on the back. We can't do that this time around, so we use this. It basically sends a vibration through your lungs. You will need to cough a bit but it shouldn't be too harsh."

"Ok now we need to roll you onto your side. Gibbs if you could support him from the front."

Gibbs quickly got up and done as Brad instructed and they rolled Tony over.

"Are you ok Tony." Brad asked.

"Yeah." Tony replied softly. "Just a bit sore."

"Ok I'm going to start this. It's going to feel a bit strange at first. A bit like a tickle."

"Ok" Tony replied, closing his eyes as Brad pressed the device to his back.

"Feels weird." Tony mumbled.

"Just relax." Brad advised and continued moving the device. "Ok Gibbs, he is going to need to cough in a minute so I need you to hold him as much as you can."

"Sure." Gibbs replied tightening his grip on Tony.

A few minutes later Tony started coughing lightly. Brad turned off the machine and helped Tony onto his back. "Ok Tony now I'm going to run a suction device into your throat to get rid of what you have coughed up."

"Uh ok." Tony said nervously.

"It won't hurt." Brad assured as he sprayed something into Tony's mouth. "That's just to numb you a bit."

Brad moved beside Tony again and had him open his mouth. Brad inserted the suction device and eased it down Tony's throat. Tony gagged slightly but was ok after a minute. Brad the removed it and left it on the locker.

"Now that should help a bit." Brad said as he wiped around Tony's mouth.

"Thanks." Tony mumbled tiredly.

"Get some rest Tony." Brad said. "Gibbs I'm going to leave this here, if he coughs while he is sleeping, just put it into his mouth to suck it all out. If he needs a big cough, roll him onto his side."

"Sure." Gibbs replied.

Brad said his goodbyes and left them both to rest.

"Go to sleep Tony." Gibbs ordered. "I'll be here,"

"Thanks boss." Tony replied with a small cough, "What time are they doing…the surgery tomorrow."

"They said it would be early in the morning. So you need to sleep."

"Night." Tony whispered and closed his eyes.

"Night." Gibbs replied softly and settled into the chair.

* * *

_Thank you so much for all the great reviews._


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

_Tuesday_

The night passed slowly for Gibbs. Tony started coughing a few times so Gibbs did what Brad had shown him. Tony thankfully didn't wake up for any of this, but Gibbs got very little sleep.

Tony woke when he heard people coming into the room.

"Hey Tony." Brad greeted as he saw Tony's eyes open. "We are just going to bring you down to surgery now."

"Oh, ok." Tony replied softly.

"You're going to be fine." Gibbs assured as he too woke up.

"I know boss." Tony replied with a small smile.

"Ok let's get going." Brad said as he and the nurses moved around the bed. "Dr. Philips is waiting for us."

"I'll see you in a while." Gibbs said giving Tony's hand a quick squeeze.

"God I need a coffee." Gibbs said when Tony had been wheeled outside.

He stretched his aching back and made his way to the coffee stand outside the hospital. After ordering a coffee and muffin he went back to the hospital to wait.

When he returned to the room he was surprised to see Jeanne sitting there.

"Oh Hi Gibbs." She said, standing up from the chair. "I just came to check on Tony."

"He's gone into surgery." Gibbs replied. "They are going to fuse the bones in his back."

"Oh." Jeanne replied sitting back down.

"He's just having some problems with his lungs because he is lying flat." Gibbs explained. "They need to fix his back so he can sit up. He's going to be fine."

"Ok good." Jeanne replied with a relieved sigh. "I've decided to tell him about the baby and let him decide if he wants to be involved in its life."

"Good, that's good." Gibbs replied. "I think he'd like to know."

"Hopefully." She replied.

The two sat in silence, waiting for Tony to be returned to his room. They only had to wait about another hour until he was wheeled in followed by Brad and Dr. Philips.

"How'd it go?" Gibbs asked.

"It went well." Dr. Philips replied as he checked Tony's vitals. "We fused the bones without any trouble, and we had a closer look at the spinal cord and other than some slight swelling there is no damage. I'm even more confident that the paralysis is temporary."

"What about his lungs?" Jeanne asked looking at the nasal cannula on Tony.

"He made it through the surgery without any problems. Hopefully now that we can get him sitting up, they should improve." Brad said. "I'm sorry, we haven't met. I'm Dr. Pitt a friend of Tony's."

"Hi Dr. Pitt." Jeanne replied with a smile. "I'm Dr. Benoit, Jeanne Benoit. I'm friends with Tony."

"Dr. Benoit works here." Dr. Philips added.

"Jeanne Benoit, you were going out with Tony for a while." Brad said. "He mentioned you a few times."

"Yes." Jeanne replied awkwardly. "How are you friends with him."

"I treated him when he had the plague." Brad said. "I also knew him from college; I broke his leg playing football."

"Oh, you're Brad Pitt." Jeanne replied recognising the story. "You ended his career in football."

"Yeah." Brad replied awkwardly. "I didn't mean to."

"I thought he was delusional when he said Brad Pitt broke his leg." Jeanne laughed.

"Yeah well, I get that a lot." Brad replied with a grin. "Anyway, I'll leave you to it. I have to get back to Bethesda for a while, but I'll be back later."

"Thanks Brad." Gibbs replied and took a seat again now that Tony was settled.

"He should wake in the next hour or so." Dr. Philips advised. "Call us when he does."

"Sure." Gibbs replied as the Doctor left the room.

"I'll come back in a while." Jeanne said as she too headed for the door.

"Make sure you do." Gibbs said.

Gibbs sat patiently for another hour before Tony started to wake.

"Boss." Tony croaked.

"Hey Tony." Gibbs replied moving closer to his agent. "How are you feeling?"

"Back… Hurts." Tony moaned.

"Ok I'm just going to call the Doctors." Gibbs said and pressed the call button.

A nurse arrived in immediately; and seeing Tony awake she hurried to get Dr. Philips.

He arrived a few minutes later and moved quickly to check on Tony.

"How are you feeling Tony." He asked.

"My back hurts." Tony croaked.

"Ok on a scale of 1 to 10 how bad is it?"

"6." Tony replied.

"Ok I'm going to give you something to help." The Doctor replied and emptied a syringe into Tony's IV. "Now that should kick in, in a minute. Now I'm just going to run my pen along your legs again. Tell me when you feel something."

"Ok." Tony mumbled and the Doctor started the test.

Tony stayed silent until the Doctor reached his thigh.

"I can feel that…I think, kinda." Tony mumbled "I feel …. Floaty."

"That's ok Tony, that would be the morphine." Dr. Philips smiled. "We'll do it again later. Get some rest."

"K." Tony mumbled, his eyes already closed.

"I think he still has feeling in the same place he did before the surgery." Dr. Philips continued as he and Gibbs moved away from the bed. "That's good; it means the surgery didn't cause any further problems. He'll most likely sleep the rest of the day. Dr. Pitt will be back here this evening and we'll see how he is then."

"Ok, thanks Doc." Gibbs replied as he moved back beside the bed and looked at his sleeping friend. "Will his lungs be ok? He's still lying down."

"Yes he should be ok for a while yet. We'll get him to cough and do his breathing exercises this evening."

Tony slept for the rest of the day, only waking occasionally and mumbling nonsense. Gibbs stayed by his side most of the day only leaving for coffee and bathroom breaks.

It was nearly six o' clock by the time the rest of the team arrived and Tony was still sleeping.

"How is he?" Abby asked quietly as they entered the room.

"He's doing ok Abbs," Gibbs replied. "He's been sleeping all day."

"Have the Doctors said anything Jethro?" Ducky asked.

"They said everything went well. They can see no damage to the spinal cord so he should be ok eventually."

"Did they check if he has feeling yet?"

"Yeah they did earlier." Gibbs chuckled. "He was kind of out of it so they said they would try again later."

"Ah." Ducky replied with a smile. "Pain killers do have a very amusing effect on young Anthony."

"S'why I don't….Take em." Tony mumbled.

"Tony you're awake." Tim said.

"Yeah, Mc Obvious." Tony mumbled again.

"How are you feeling Tony?" Ziva asked.

"M'ok."

"I'll call the Doctor." Gibbs said and made his way outside.

He returned a few minutes later followed by both Dr. Philips and Dr. Pitt.

"Hey Tony. Good to see you awake." Brad said. "Ok guys if you can give us some privacy for a few minutes we need to check a few things."

"Of course." Ducky replied and led the group out of the room leaving Gibbs with Tony.

"Ok Tony, We are just going to test your legs again." Dr. Philips said removing the sheet. "Tell me when you can feel the pen."

"Um I can kind of feel it but… It feels really light." Tony said when the pen was just above his knee.

"Ok I'm going to keep moving it. Tell me if you can't feel it anymore or if it feels heavier."

The pen had just reached mid thigh when Tony said it felt heavier. Dr. Philips repeated this on the other leg and got the same results. He then lifted one of Tony's legs and ran the pen along the sole of the foot. This caused the foot to move slightly. He repeated on the other leg with the same result.

"This is very good Tony." He said. "The feeling is slowly returning and the muscles are reacting to pressure."

"That's great." Tony grinned.

"Ok Tony." Brad said. "I'm afraid we have to get you to cough again."

"Great." Tony sighed.

"Ok we are going to turn you onto your side and we'll give you a pillow to hold. Brad explained. "We are going to use the same thing we used yesterday."

"Ok." Tony replied as the two Doctors moved him into position and Gibbs held him.

Brad quickly positioned the device and turned it on. "It might feel a little stronger today, we have more access to your back as the brace is gone."

Tony gave a slight nod in response and Brad continued.

A few minutes later Tony let out a small cough and Gibbs used the suction device to remove the mucus from Tony's mouth. Another minute later Tony coughed a bit harder. This caused him to wince as the staples in his back were pulled.

"We're nearly done." Brad assured and Tony again just nodded.

Tony coughed a few more times before Brad switched off the device and then they helped Tony to lie on his back.

"That was good Tony." Brad praised. "Now we are going to leave you on your back for tonight and tomorrow we'll get you sitting up."

"Sure Doc." Tony replied

"Do you think you can manage your breathing exercises?" Brad asked handing Tony the tube.

"Yeah" Tony sighed and moved it to his mouth and started the exercise.

He could only managed to get one ball moving on either side and after four goes he started coughing.

"That's enough for now Tony." Brad said "We'll do some more tomorrow."

"Thanks." Tony mumbled.

"Ok we'll send your visitors back in." Dr. Philips said as they left the room.

A minute later the group returned.

"Well how did it go?" Abby asked.

"He has some more feeling back in his legs." Gibbs said "They are very happy with his progress."

"Oh Tony, that's great." Abby replied happily and gave Tony a gentle hug.

"Yeah it is." Tony replied with a yawn.

"Ok guys Tony needs to sleep." Gibbs said. "You can come back and see him tomorrow."

"But Gibbs," Abby protested.

"Please Abbs." Gibbs said quietly. "He's really tired and won't sleep if you guys are here."

"Ok." Abby sighed. "We have to go Tony, But we'll be back to see you tomorrow."

"Thanks Abbs." Tony replied as she gave him another hug. "Thanks for coming guys, Sorry I'm not better company."

"You just get better young man." Ducky said "That's all we want."

"Thanks Duck." Tony replied quietly.

"Goodbye Tony, we will see you tomorrow." Ziva said.

"Bye Tony." McGee added.

"See ya tomorrow Tony." Palmer said and with that the group left the room.

"You should go get some dinner or something boss." Tony suggested.

"I'm fine Tony. I'll get something later."

"I'll be fine boss." Tony protested. "I'll probably just sleep anyway."

"I know, I just don't want you to be on your own."

"Thanks boss." Tony replied closing his eyes.

A few minutes later Gibbs spoke waking Tony from his doze.

"I think I will go get something to eat."

"Thought you didn't want to leave me on my own." Tony said with a smile.

"I'm not." Gibbs replied looking towards the door.

Tony looked up to see Jeanne looking in.

"Thanks boss." Tony said softly as Gibbs made his way to the door.

"He's all yours." Gibbs whispered to Jeanne as he passed. "Just remember what I said."

"I will thanks." Jeanne replied and entered the room.

"Hey Tony." she said moving beside his bed.

"Hey Jeanne." Tony replied with a small smile. "How are you?"

"I'm good Tony, How are you feeling."

"I'm ok."

"That's good." She replied taking his hand in hers. "I was talking to your Doctors and they are really happy with you. They said you should make a full recovery."

"Yeah." He agreed. "Are you um seeing anyone?"

"No Tony, I haven't been with anyone since you."

"But then, um does that mean." Tony stuttered as his heart monitor started racing.

"Shhh Tony, calm down." Jeanne soothed him. "The baby is yours."

"I'm going to be a Dad." Tony gasped.

"Yeah Tony, if you want to be." She replied squeezing his hand.

"Of course I do." Tony replied as the heart monitor calmed a bit.

"Really." Jeanne asked in surprise. "I didn't think you would want anything to do with me after everything that happened."

"I didn't think… you would ever….come near me …. Again." Tony replied struggling for breath.

"Tony, just relax." Jeanne instructed as she turned up the oxygen. "Breath through your nose."

Tony did as instructed and after a few minutes managed to get his breathing back under control.

"There you go." Jeanne soothed. "Just take it easy for a while."

"Thanks. I don't blame you for what happened. I never wanted to hurt you."

"I'm sorry for what I did. I loved you so much, and I just….I."

"It's ok. I understand. I'm sorry I told you I never had feeling for you, it was all lies. I wanted you to be able to hate me so you could move on."

"Even after all that, I couldn't hate you Tony." Jeanne said with tears in here eyes. "I love you Tony and I'd like to get to know the real you."

"I love you too Jeanne." Tony replied with a sob. Jeanne gave him a hug and she too cried.

They stayed like that for a few minutes until they had both stopped crying.

"Um how is your mother dealing with this," Tony asked as they pulled away from each other.

"She's been great." Jeanne replied. "I was surprised at how nice she was about the whole thing."

"She's going to hate me now." Tony sighed.

"I didn't tell her about what happened with you. I told her we broke up and you didn't know about the baby. I didn't go into details."

"Why didn't you tell her?" Tony asked.

"I just didn't want her to know. You were the first boyfriend I've had that she has actually liked. I suppose I didn't want to disappoint her or I suppose, give her anything to use against me."

"I'm sorry Jeanne." Tony sighed.

"Don't be. I want to work things out between us and we can make up something to tell her."

"You really want to give it another try?" Tony asked hesitantly.

"Yeah I do."

"You know all the times I was called away for work, well that was all for work, for NCIS. That's not going to change. Do you think you can handle my insane work hours."

"Tony I'm a Doctor, my work hours are nearly as bad as yours." Jeanne said with a smile. "We managed before, we can do it again."

"And what about me being with NCIS. Are you ok with that because I'm not leaving."

"Yeah Tony, I'm ok with it." She replied with a smile. "Just as long as you aren't investigating my mother."

"Why, should we be?" Tony asked with a serious face but broke into a smile quickly. "No, I promise I'm in this for you and you alone. Well and the baby."

"Of course."

"So have you picked out any names yet?" Tony asked.

"No I'm finding it really hard to pick them. Do you have any ideas?"

"Um no not at the moment, I'd need to think about it." Tony replied "I've never really thought about what I'd name a baby."

"I picked out loads when I was younger but I just don't really like them anymore."

"Really, like what."

"Um like Aurora or Ariel, all the Disney princess." Jeanne said blushing.

"Aw that's so cute." Tony said.

"Yeah but I want the name to mean something." Jeanne sighed. "I thought first that if it was a boy I'd name it after my father, but I changed my mind on that. My mother suggested I name him or her after my grandparents, but I was never very close to them."

"How about Katie for a girl." Tony suggested quietly.

"Katie." Jeanne said trying the name out. "Short for Kathleen or Caitlyn."

"Short for Caitlyn." Tony said

"Caitlyn, I like that. Who's name is it Tony?" she asked quietly.

"Kate was my partner at NCIS. She was shot a few years ago."

"Katie it is then." Jeanne said as she stroked Tony's forehead. "What about if it's a boy?"

"Hey I came up with one name, you have to pick one."

"Ok we'll work on that later but now you need to get some sleep."

"Yeah ok." Tony agreed tiredly.

"Sleep well Tony." Jeanne whispered giving him a light kiss.

"Night Jeanne, Night Katie." Tony mumbled.

"It could be a boy." Jeanne said quietly but Tony was already asleep.

"Well how did it go." Came Gibbs' voice from the door way.

"Better than I thought." Jeanne replied. "We are going to get to know each other again and see how things go. He wants to be there for his baby, he's even picked out a name."

"Really and what's that, Anthony junior." Gibbs laughed.

"No." Jeanne grinned. "We haven't decided on a boy's name yet, but if it's a girl, she'll be called Katie."

"Short for Caitlyn." Gibbs nodded

"Yeah, Tony said she was his partner at NCIS but she died."

"Yeah." Gibbs sighed. "She was shot in the head while standing beside me and Tony. Tony's face was covered in her blood."

"Oh God." Jeanne gasper, "That's terrible. I didn't know that, I'm sorry."

"It's ok." Gibbs assured. "Does he understand that he is not quitting his job for you?"

"Yes, he made it clear he wanted to stay at NCIS." Jeanne smirked. "I'm ok with it. I don't like it, I'll be terrified that he'll get hurt again, but I'll deal with it."

"Good." Gibbs said. "He's like a son to me and I don't want to lose him."

"Well our baby is going to need a grandpa." Jeanne said with a grin. "Grandpa Gibbs has a nice ring to it."

"Yeah it does." Gibbs grinned. "Now you should go get some rest. I'll be staying with Tony."

"Thanks Gibbs" Jeanne said giving him a kiss on the cheek. "Take care of him for me."

"I will." Gibbs replied, taking the seat beside Tony while Jeanne left the room.

"At least something good came out of this." Gibbs said with a sigh and settled in for the night.

* * *

_A/n: Thank you so much for all the reveiws. I'm sorry I haven't had time to reply to all of them but I will get around to it._


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Wednesday

Tony slept through the night but the same couldn't be said for Gibbs. He woke every time a nurse or Doctor came in and also every time Tony coughed, which happened a lot.

"Good morning." A nurse called cheerfully as she walked in.

"Morning" grumbled Gibbs as he woke up.

"Mornin'" Tony mumbled.

"Tony, I'm just going to take your vitals and changed out the IV bag." She said as she moved beside Tony.

"K." Tony mumbled again as she started.

"I'm going to get coffee." Gibbs said as he stretched and then left the room.

When he returned with his coffee the nurse was gone and Tony was now fully awake.

"How are you feeling this morning Tony?"

"Alright." Tony sighed. "Boss ah when do you think they'll let me out of the diaper. I ah can kind of feel it now and I don't like it."

"I'll talk to them later and we'll see." Gibbs replied. "How's your back feeling."

"It's a bit sore if I move but it's not too bad."

"And your stomach."

"Same, they really only hurt if I move."

"How's your breathing?"

"It feels a bit harder to get air, but it's ok." Tony replied honestly. "The nurse turned up the oxygen so it's getting better."

"Ok." Gibbs sighed. "Let me know if it gets worse. Brad should be here shortly."

"Will do." Tony replied.

"So I hear you are naming the baby after Kate." Gibbs said.

"Um yeah, Jeanne didn't have any names she really wanted so I thought Katie would be nice."

"It is." Gibbs assured with a smile.

"Well Tony, how are you feeling this morning." Brad asked as he entered.

"I'm ok." Tony replied.

"Good to hear, we are just going to get you sitting up and I'll have a listen to your lungs."

"Sure." Tony replied.

"Tony, Gibbs and I are going to help you up. Lean into Gibbs while I fix the bed."

"Right." Tony replied and the two men helped him sit up and Brad quickly raised the back of the bed and rearranged the pillows.

"You can lean back now Tony." Brad instructed and he and Gibbs gently helped Tony to lay back.

"How's that Tony." Brad asked, "Are you hurting anywhere?"

"It's ok." Tony replied. "My back hurts a bit…..so does my stomach……but its ok."

"Ok great." Brad said as he pulled out his stethoscope. "Now I'm just going to have a listen."

Tony sat silently as Brad listened to his lungs from the front and back.

"Hmm." Brad said after a few minutes.

"What's wrong?" Gibbs asked,

"Tony, your lungs sound a bit more congested." Brad sighed. "I'm going to increase the antibiotics and we will get you doing the breathing exercises. We'll keep an eye on it. You'll need to let us know if you find it harder to breathe or anything."

"Sure." Tony sighed.

"What does that mean; I thought you did the operation so this wouldn't happen." Gibbs growled.

"We did the operation to make it easier for Tony." Brad said. "His lungs were already congested, so it's to be expected. We are doing everything we can for him Gibbs."

"Ok." Gibbs sighed.

"So Brad." Tony interrupted. "Did you hear I'm going to be a Dad?"

"What?" Brad asked in disbelief. "When did this happen, you never mentioned it."

"I only found out." Tony replied. "Jeanne is pregnant with my baby."

"Tony, that's great." Brad grinned. "Wow."

"That about sums it up." Tony replied with a grin.

"Well Tony that's great, I'm happy for you." Brad said. "Now do your breathing exercises before they come in with breakfast."

"Ok." Tony replied and started doing them.

Brad gave a nod to them and headed out the door.

"I'll be back in a minute." Gibbs said and hurried after Brad.

"Dr. Pitt." Gibbs called.

"What can I do for you Gibbs?" Brad asked stopping and turning around.

"Tony wants to know if he can get rid of the diaper. He can feel it now and doesn't like it."

"I'll talk to the nurses." Brad replied with a smile. "They won't take it off until they know he can control the muscles. Tell him to call for a nurse when he feels he needs to go and they'll take it from there."

"Ok Thanks Brad." Gibbs replied and went back to Tony's rooms to tell Tony what Brad had said.

Tony had just finished his breathing exercises and was happy with what Gibbs had told him. Breakfast arrived a few minutes later and Tony ate nearly all of what he was given.

"Now can I have a pizza?" He asked Gibbs.

"We'll see how you are tomorrow." Gibbs grinned and Tony scowled.

"I hate the food in hospitals."

"I know, but hopefully it won't be for too much longer."

"I hope not." Tony sighed, "I want to be out of here before the baby is born."

"I'm sure you will be." Gibbs replied as a nurse came in.

"Ah Tony, its good to see you eating everything." She said. "Now I'm just going to change you and clean you up a bit."

"Ok." Tony sighed.

"I'll just go grab some breakfast." Gibbs said and left the room giving Tony some privacy.

When he arrived back Tony was fast asleep, still sitting up but he had an oxygen mask over his face. "It's just to administer the steroids" the nurse explained as she saw Gibbs' worried look. Gibbs nodded, took his seat and waited for Abby to arrive. She was going to stay with Tony today while Gibbs went into work. He didn't have to wait too long before she arrived.

"Hey Abbs." Gibbs greeted quietly.

"Hey Gibbs, how's Tony?"

"He's doing alright." Gibbs replied as he stood up. "Make sure he does his breathing exercises every hour when he's awake."

"No problem." Abby replied and after giving Gibbs a quick kiss, she sat in his vacated chair. "I'll see you later."

"Bye Abbs." Gibbs replied and after a quick glance at his injured agent he left the room and headed to work.

He drove to work at his normal break neck speed, so arrived very quickly. When he got out of the elevator McGee and Ziva were sitting at their desks hard at work.

"What have we got?" Gibbs asked.

"Oh um we are just going over some cold cases." McGee stuttered. "There is nothing new. Um how's Tony?"

"He's good, I'll be up with the director." Gibbs said and headed up stairs.

"Good morning Agent Gibbs." Cynthia greeted as he entered. "Director Sheppard is inside, you can go straight in."

"Thanks Cynthia." Gibbs replied as he open the office door and stepped inside. "Jenny."

"Jethro." She replied looking up from some papers. "How is Agent DiNozzo?"

"He's doing well."

"That's good to hear. Now what can I do for you Jethro?"

"I need to take some leave when Tony gets out of the hospital."

"What for?" Jenny asked.

"He is going to need help when he is released from the hospital, so he'll be staying with me."

"You're letting one of your agents stay with you." Jenny smirked. "I didn't think you would allow that. Is it not one of your rules?"

"No Jen, it's not. And Tony has stayed with me before. I'll drop the forms up to Cynthia." Gibbs said as he went to leave the office.

"Agent Gibbs" Jenny called but Gibbs kept walking. "Tell Tony I'm glad he is ok."

Gibbs smirked and continued out the door. He was just coming down the stairs when his phone rang.

"Gibbs." He said answering the phone and after listening to the caller he hung up.

"Gear up." He barked at Ziva and McGee. "We have a dead lieutenant in Bethesda Hospital. McGee, call Ducky."

"Yes boss." McGee replied picking up the phone and quickly informing Ducky he was needed, and then he quickly followed Gibbs and Ziva into the elevator.

Gibbs drove and they reached the hospital quickly. They were shown to the room where the lieutenant was found dead. He had been admitted to the hospital for a broken leg. One of the nurses found him dead when she came to check on him.

The team quickly moved into the room and started working. Gibbs was interviewing witnesses and McGee was taking pictures and sketching while Ziva collected evidence.

"TOD, Ducky." Gibbs asked as he returned to the room.

"He died approximately 2 hours ago." Ducky replied "COD looks to be asphyxiation."

"It looks like he was smothered with his pillow." McGee added.

"Lets get him back and we can look into it." Gibbs said "McGee get a copy of the surveillance footage for the hospital entrance and for the hall outside this room. Ziva get a list of all staff on duty between those hours and a list of visitors. I also need a list of all patients here from last night until now."

"Yes Gibbs." They both replied and hurried off.

"How is Anthony this morning?" Ducky asked.

"He's doing ok." Gibbs replied. "He's lungs are still causing some problems but he's doing better."

"That's good to hear." Ducky replied. "The poor boy has had enough problems."

"Yeah." Gibbs agreed.

"Mr. Palmer." Ducky said. "We are ready to go now if you can give me a hand with our guest."

"Yes of course doctor." Palmer replied and they both pushed the gurney out of the room.

Gibbs closed the door and sealed the room before going to find Ziva and McGee.

He found them talking to Dr. Pitt near the nurses station.

"Hey Agent Gibbs." Brad greeted. "Ziva and Tim were just filling me in on what happened."

"Were they." Gibbs replied. "Did you get what I asked you?"

"Yes boss." They both answered together,

"Get the gear and get ready to go." Gibbs barked.

"Yes boss." They both replied and started gathering their thing. "Bye Brad."

"How was Tony before you left?" Brad asked Gibbs.

"Sleeping. Abby is with him now. I'll be going back over there this evening."

"Yeah me too." Brad added. "We should be able to get him transferred here in a few days."

"That's good." Gibbs replied. "I'll see you this evening then."

"Sure." Brad replied and they both went in opposite directions.

Gibbs dropped Ziva and McGee off and then headed for the hospital to visit Tony.

When he arrived Tony was awake and eating some lunch.

"Boss man." Abby called "What are you doing here."

"I just came to see how Tony was."

"I'm fine boss." Tony replied. "I was just eating um I suppose you could call it lunch. It's not very good."

"Keep eating what they give you and I'll bring you in a pizza." Gibbs promised.

"Abbs, go get some lunch, I'll keep Tony company."

"Sure thing." Abby replied and left the room.

"How are your legs?" Gibbs asked.

"They feel kinda tingly." Tony replied. "But at least I'm feeling something now."

"That's good Tony. How about the diaper thing?"

"I ah, haven't needed to go yet so it's still there." Tony replied, his face getting redder by the second.

"Have you been doing your breathing exercises?"

"Yes." Tony replied. "Abby is like a drill sergeant. She makes sure I do it every hour."

"Good." Gibbs smirked. "And how are your lungs?"

"Ok I think. It doesn't feel any harder to breath but it doesn't feel any easier."

"Make sure you tell them that when they ask." Gibbs ordered.

"I will." Tony assured "I want to get out of here as soon as possible."

"Has Jeanne been by today?"

"No not yet. She'll be here after she finishes her shift. I told Abby about the baby."

"How did she take it?"

"She was over the moon boss." Tony laughed and then coughed.

"She was already…..planning what clothes…. She could buy."

"Sounds like Abby." Gibbs replied. "Now stop talking it's making you cough."

"K boss." Tony replied and they lapsed into a comfortable silence. Tony started to fall asleep and he was fast asleep by the time Abby returned. Gibbs returned to work and Abby spent the rest of the day watching TV while Tony slept. When Gibbs returned to the office Ziva and McGee were sitting at their desk working quietly.

"Do we have anything?" Gibbs asked.

"No boss." McGee replied. "There are no security cameras outside the room and the only one in the hallway is at the entrance. A lot of people have gone through there since last night. I've narrowed down the search to the 3 hours before he was found but it's still a lot of people. We are trying to eliminate the doctors and nurses who were on duty."

"What if it was one of the doctors or nurses?" Ziva asked.

"I don't think it was." McGee said "All they would have to do is give him the wrong meds it would have been easier then smothering him."

"Even so it could be one of them." Gibbs interrupted. "Identify everyone you can. Hopefully we'll get something from the pillow or the body. Does he have any family?"

"No." Ziva replied "His parents both died a few years ago and he was a lonely child."

"An only child." McGee corrected.

"Yes yes." Ziva said. "We have arranged interviews with his friends and colleges in a few hours."

"Good." Gibbs replied "Find me something else. I'll be down with Ducky."

"Right." McGee sighed and continued on his search.

Gibbs stopped to grab some coffee and then headed down to autopsy for Ducky' report.

"Ah Jethro." Ducky greeted. "How is young Anthony?"

"Doing well. What do you have for me?"

"Well it seems our lieutenant was indeed suffocated and from the bruising around his face it seems Timothy was right and he was suffocated with his pillow."

"Any idea who could have done it."

"None Jethro, the young lad was on pain medication which made him drowsy; it would not have taken much strength to subdue him. There was no skin under his nails or any other evidence on him"

"So it could have been anyone." Gibbs sighed. "Alright thanks Duck."

Gibbs returned to the pen and after telling McGee and Ziva what Ducky had said he headed back to the hospital.

"Gibbs, you're back." Abby squealed happily. "Tony's been asleep since you left."

"That's good Abbs, he needs his sleep. I'll stay with him for now. I need you to get back to the office to process the evidence."

"Ok bossman." Abby replied. "Anything I need to know about the case."

"Just that we have no leads. We need finger prints or DNA." Gibbs replied. "Now get going."

"I'll be back later." Abby assured as she rushed out of the room.

"Tell me about … the case." Tony said when Abby had left.

"I thought you were sleeping."

"I woke up."

"You don't need to hear about it Tony." Gibbs protested.

"Please boss I'm bored."

"Fine." Gibbs sighed and filled Tony in on all they knew.

"How did he break his leg?" Tony asked when Gibbs had finished.

"What does that matter?"

"It might, so how did he break it."

"Playing football with the guys he works with." Gibbs replied. "He told the nurse it was a bad tackle."

"Is he friendly with the guy… who tackled him? It could have been revenge… for something and might have escalated. Or some crazy nurse or …doctor who likes to kill their patients."

"You have some imagination Tony." Gibbs smiled. "Is that from one of your movies?"

"I don't think so boss." Tony replied. "I might have seen a TV …program with something like that but … I don't know it's kinda fuzzy."

"They have you on pain killers Tony. You know how they make you."

"Yup." Tony grinned. "I don't like it."

"Just get some rest and get better."

"Yes boss." Tony mumbled and again fell asleep.

Tony spent the rest of the day sleeping on and off. When he woke, he did his breathing exercises, used the mask for the steroids and had something to eat. Gibbs returned to work after Tony had his dinner and Jeanne came to visit.

"How are you feeling Tony?" she asked when Gibbs had gone.

"I'm ok, how are you and the baby."

"We are both fine." She replied. "I brought you some pictures of the ultra sounds."

"Cool." Tony said as he looked at the pictures. "Wow this is my baby."

"It is." Jeanne agreed "And he or she is very active today."

"That's my kid." Tony grinned.

"Here, feel it moving." Jeanne said and placed Tony's hand on her bump.

"Oh wow." Tony gasped. "That's…that's so cool."

"Yeah it is." Jeanne replied. "Tell me about Kate. I want to know about her if my daughter is going to be named after her."

"Well she used to work for the Secret Service and was on the Presidents personal staff." Tony said and then continued to tell her all about Kate.

"You were very close." Jeanne said when he had finished.

"She was like a sister. Well a sister that I teased a lot." Tony laughed.

"What was her full name?" Jeanne asked.

"Caitlyn Todd." Tony replied.

"We could call him Todd if it's a boy." Jeanne suggested.

"Really, that would be cool. Thank you."

"You are very welcome." Jeanne replied and kissed Tony gently on the lips.

Tony groaned when she pulled away.

"We can kiss some more when you can breathe properly." Jeanne grinned.

"I'll hold you to it." Tony replied just as Tim and Ziva arrived.

"Hold you to what?" Ziva asked.

"Nothing." Tony replied "Guy's you know Jeanne, Jeanne this is Ziva David and Tim McGee."

"Hi." Tim replied

"You are pregnant." Ziva asked.

"She's a trained investigator, nothing gets past her." Tony laughed. "Yes Ziva she is pregnant with my baby."

"You are going to be a father." McGee mocked.

"Yes probie, I am." Tony huffed.

"He will be a great father." Jeanne interrupted, squeezing Tony's hand.  
"Yes he will." Abby agreed as she walked in followed by Ducky, Gibbs and Palmer.

"I believe congratulations are in order." Ducky said as he moved beside Tony's bed.

"Thank you Ducky." Tony grinned.

"Ah Miss Benoit, it is a pleasure to meet you." Ducky said and kissed Jeanne's hand. "I am Dr. Mallard, but you can call me Ducky."

"It's a pleasure to meet you Ducky."

"I'm Abby and this is Jimmy." Abby said quickly introducing herself. "He is my Tony bear and you better not hurt him."

"I won't." Jeanne replied moving closer to Tony.

"It's ok Abby, everything is fine." Tony assured.

"Ok." Abby relented "So have you decided on baby names?"

"Yes." Jeanne replied "We have decided on Caitlyn for a girl and Todd for a boy."

"Oh wow." Abby gasped. "That's….that's so nice."

"I know how important Kate was to Tony." Jeanne said.

"That's sweet of you." Abby said and pulled Jeanne into a tight hug.

"I'd better get going." Jeanne said as she pulled away. "I'm meeting some friends for dinner."

"Enjoy yourself." Tony said pulling her down for a kiss. "I love you."

"I love you to." Jeanne replied. "Make sure you get some rest."

"I will." He assured as she headed out the door.

"That's really nice of her." Jimmy said when Jeanne had gone.

"Yeah it is." Tony replied. "I suggested Katie and when I told Jeanne about Kate, she suggested Todd."

"That's cool." Abby grinned. "I think I might like her."

"Well you'll have to get used to her." Tony advised. "She's going be in my life a lot."

"Congratulations Tony." Ziva said and gave him a kiss on the forehead. "I am very happy for you both."

"Thanks Zeeevah." Tony replied "So how's the case going."

"We are beginning to think it may be someone who works at the hospital." McGee said. "We've checked all of the camera's and we can't see anyone suspicious going near the room. The only people were Doctors or nurses."

"So we have a nurse or Doctor killing people." Tony sighed. "It better not be Brad, I don't want to find another doctor."

"It's not Brad." Gibbs assured. "We are running through the list of people seen on camera first."

"Cool." Tony grinned "Any news for me."

"No there is nothing else happening." Jimmy replied as a cute female doctor walked in. "Hello Doc." Tony said as she checked his vitals.

"Hi Tony" she replied "Have you read any of you books yet."

"Not yet. Actually Doc this is Jimmy. He's the friend who got me the books."

"Hello Jimmy." The Doctor greeted. "I'm Sandra; you have very good taste in books."

"Oh ah Hello." Jimmy stuttered.

"Get some rest Tony." Sandra instructed and left the room.

"She like you." Tony said to Jimmy. "Now back to my question."

"Nothing is happening, Everyone is asking for you."

"That's nice." Tony replied as the group started listing all of the people who asked for him. The group continued talking as Tony drifted off to sleep. When Gibbs noticed this he sent the others away and he settled into the chair beside the bed.

Brad came in after a while and woke Tony so he could examine him. Tony groggily allowed Brad to examine him while Gibbs held Tony up.

"You seem to be doing well Tony." Brad said "How are you feeling"?

"I'm ok." Tony replied. "I'm tired."

"That's to be expected." Brad assured. "Your body has a lot to deal with at the moment and sleep will help you heal."

"When can I go home?" Tony asked.

"It's going to be a while yet." Brad replied apologetically. "We need to wait until your lungs are on the mend before we even think about it. We would also prefer if you have the feeling back in your legs before you are discharged. How are your legs?"

"Um ok I think. I can feel …as far as my knee but it feels like pins and needles. I can kinda… feel the rest of my legs but only a little."

"Well that's good." Brad replied. "We might get you out of here soon if you keep it up."

"I'm trying." Tony replied as the door opened and a nurse walked in.

Tony recognised her as Carly a friend of Jeanne's, she had tears in her eyes.

"Tony." She sobbed "Jeanne's been in an accident."

* * *

_A/n: Thank you so much for all the fantastic reviews. They are great, keep em coming._


	7. Chapter 7

* * *

Chapter 7

"Oh God." Tony gasped "Carly is she ok."

"I don't know they wouldn't let me help." Carly sobbed. "She looked pretty bad."

"I have to see her." Tony cried trying to get out of the bed.

"Tony you need to stay in bed." Gibbs said pushing his agent back into bed.

"Gibbs I have to make…. Sure she's ok." Tony gasped.

"Tony you need to relax." Brad instructed as he turned up the oxygen. "I'll go and check on her but you need to stay here."

"Ok." Tony relented. "Please make sure… they are both ok."

"I will." Brad assured. "Carly can you stay with Tony to make sure he's ok. I'll be back in a few minutes. Gibbs, don't let him move around."

Brad rushed out the door as Carly moved beside Tony and checked his vitals.

"She'll be fine Tony." Carly assured. "Both her and the baby will be fine."

"I hope your right." Tony sighed. "Uh Gibbs, this is Carly, a friend of Jeanne's she works here."

"Nice to meet you." Carly said

"You too." Gibbs replied and they lapsed into silence.

Brad returned 20 minutes later with a grim look on his face.

"What's wrong." Gibbs asked.

"Dr. Benoit was hit by a drunk driver when she was walking to her car." Brad explained. "They have brought her into surgery. She has a lot of internal injuries."

"And the baby?" Carly asked.

"They won't know until they get into surgery." Brad sighed. "If the baby is ok, they will be delivering it tonight."

"I can't lose them." Tony sobbed.

Gibbs quickly moved beside him and pulled him into a hug. "It'll be ok." He soothed as Tony continued to cry.

The monitors around Tony started beeping rapidly as Tony got more upset. Brad quickly injected something into the IV and slowly the monitors started to calm down, as did Tony. When Tony had stopped crying, Gibbs gently moved him back against the bed and noticed that Tony was nearly asleep.

"What did you give him?" Gibbs asked Brad.

"I gave him a sedative." Brad sighed. "He was getting too worked up and couldn't breathe. It was only a mild one; we can wake him up in a while if we need to."

"Good." Gibbs sighed. "So what are her chances?"

"Not good." Brad replied looking from Gibbs to Carly. "There is a lot of internal damage as well as damage to the skull and numerous broken bones. There was a heartbeat for the baby but it was very weak."

"Oh God." Carly gasped and started crying.

"How about we go get some coffee." Brad said to Carly and then gently led her out of the room.

When the 2 had left Gibbs picked up his phone and started calling the team to let them know what was happening. Half an hour later the team arrived back at the hospital and quietly sat in Tony's room waiting for news. Brad and Carly returned a short while later and after Carly was introduced to everyone, they too joined the wait. Brad left every half hour to see if he could get an update and Tony continued to sleep. 4 hours after Carly had first entered with the bad news, Brad finally got an update. When he returned to the room he gently woke Tony and everyone gathered around for support.

"Tony." Brad said softly. "Jeanne is out of surgery but they don't think she will make it through the night."

Tony looked in shock at Brad and slowly nodded his head.

"What about the baby?" Gibbs asked as he sat beside Tony.

"They delivered the baby." Brad continued. "It's a girl but again they don't expect her to survive long."

"Has anyone contacted her mother?" Tony asked.

"Yes she is listed as her next of kin."

"Can I see them?" Tony asked quietly.

"I don't think it's a good idea." Brad said.

"Please I need to see them." Tony pleaded. "I won't get another chance."

"Alright." Brad sighed. "I'll get a wheelchair and both Gibbs and I will be with you."

"Thanks." Tony sighed. "You ok Carly?"

"No." Carly sobbed and quickly moved beside Tony.

Tony pulled her into a hug and they both cried until Brad arrived with the wheelchair.

The team quickly went outside to give Tony some privacy. Brad and Carly disconnected the monitors and moved the IV's and oxygen to the wheelchair. When that was done, Gibbs and Brad lifted Tony into the chair and Carly covered him with a blanket. Tony was exhausted after being moved so they gave him a few minutes before they started to move. Gibbs pushed the wheelchair, Carly and Brad walked on both sides and the team followed behind.

They arrived at the ICU a few minutes later and Carly and Brad went in to make sure it was ok for Tony to enter. Brad returned and motioned for Gibbs and Tony to come in. Gibbs gently wheeled him in and positioned him beside Jeanne's bed.

"Oh Jeanne." Tony sobbed quietly when he saw her. He gently picked up her hand and gave it a squeeze. "It's a little girl Jeanne. We'll call her Caitlyn Jeanne Benoit DiNozzo."

Gibbs squeezed Tony's shoulder gently as tears fell down Tony's face.

"I love you Jeanne, you have to get better, both you and Katie. I can't loose you again."

"Is this the father of the baby?" a young Doctor asked Gibbs.

"Yeah he is." Gibbs replied tiredly.

"He can see her if he wants." She continued. "He may even be able to hold her for a while."

"Do you want to see your daughter Tony?" Gibbs asked gently.

"Can I?" Tony asked.

"Yeah the doctor said you can." Gibbs replied.

"I'll be back in a while Jeanne." Tony said and gave her hand a kiss. "I'm going to see Katie to make sure she's ok."

When Tony let go of her hand, Gibbs pushed the wheelchair after the doctor. She lead them to the Paediatric ICU and over to a cot where a small baby lay.

"She's breathing on her own." The Doctor said "But because of the accident she has a lot of internal injuries. Her heart is very weak and we don't think she'll make it through the night."

Tony gave a slight nod and gazed through the cot at his daughter.

"Would you like to hold her." The doctor asked.

"You said she's hurt, won't I hurt her more."

"No she'll be fine." She replied as she picked the little bundle out of the cot.

One of the nurses got a pillow and placed it under Tony's arm and his daughter was placed in his arms.

"Hello Katie. I'm your daddy and this is your Grandpa Gibbs." Tony cooed. "You are so pretty, just like your mommy. She's not too good so she can't come to see you."

Gibbs crouched down beside Tony and looked at the baby. "She has your mouth."

"Yeah she does, she has Jeanne's nose and face." Tony added just as the babies eyes opened. "Oh hello."

"We have a priest here if you want her baptised." The Doctor interrupted. "You should do it now if it's what you want."

"Yeah can you get him?" Tony replied

"Of course." She replied and left to get the priest. She returned a few minutes later followed by Brad, Carly and the team. The priest arrived a minute after with Jeanne's mother.

"Anthony." She greeted. "How are you? Jeanne told me you were ill."

"I'm fine." Tony replied "I'd ah I'd like you to meet someone; this is your granddaughter Katie. Katie this is your Grandma."

"Oh my." Ms. Berkley gasped as she saw the baby. "What are her chances?"

"Not good." Tony replied and focused again on the baby. "We are going to have her Baptised."

"Ok." She sighed and moved closer to Tony.

The priest moved in front of them and blessed and baptised Katie. Then he left them alone. The team each said a quick hello to the baby and then left them alone.

Tony introduced Gibbs and Helen and then turned back to the baby.

"Would you like to hold her?" Tony offered

"No its ok I don't want to upset her." Helen replied,

"She should be held by her grandparents." Tony said. "Both of them."

"Alright," Helen said and took a seat.

The Doctor gently moved the baby to Helens arms and after a few minutes she moved her to Gibbs.

"She doesn't have long left." The doctor said as she moved the baby back to Tony's arms. "Her heart rate is very low."

"Hello again little Katie." Tony said "I know you have to go away now… and that's ok. I need you to know I love you… very, very much and always will. Your… mommy is sick and will… be with you soon. I need you… to take care of her for me because she'll be…. sad. I know you're hurt, so you can go now and you'll feel better."

Tears were pouring down Helens face and Gibbs was trying hard not to cry as Tony started to hum a lullaby. Katie slowly closed her eyes and a few seconds later the heart monitor flat lined. The doctor quickly switched the sound off and announced time of death. Tony gave Katie a kiss on the forehead and then she was gently taken from his arms and put back in the cot.

"You should spend some time with your wife." The doctor suggested to Tony.

Tony nodded as tears continued to roll down his cheek. Gibbs got behind the wheelchair and pushed Tony out of the ward as Helen walked beside him. The team were waiting outside and Abby started crying when Gibbs shook his head. McGee pulled her into his arms and they followed Tony and Gibbs back to Jeanne's room. Brad was waiting there for them and brought Tony and Helen in. Gibbs waited outside until he was needed. Brad arrived out after a few minutes with tears in his eyes.

"Is the baby gone?" he asked.

"Yeah a few minutes ago." Gibbs replied "While Tony was holding her."

"Jeanne doesn't have long left." Brad said. "She isn't going to wake up; it's just the machines keeping her alive."

"How's Tony?" Gibbs asked.

"He's ok. His vitals are stable and his oxygen levels are ok for the moment but he needs to go back to bed and sleep. There is still some sedative in his system which is keeping him calm at the moment but it isn't going to last long."

"He won't leave her side." Gibbs sighed.

"No he won't. I'm going to stay with him to make sure he's ok physically; I'll call you in a while, he's going to need your support."

"Sure." Gibbs replied and went to join the others in some nearby seats.

In the ICU Tony and Helen were sitting at either side of Jeanne each holding one of her hands and taking turns to talk to her.

"I saw Katie, she… looks very like you." Tony said softly. "She was hurt very badly so …..she had to go. I told her …...it was ok and you would be with her soon."

"She was very pretty, Jeanne." Helen continued "And she was very brave, she has Tony's mouth, but all the rest was you. I held her for a while and she was very sweet."

"She's waiting for you Jeanne." Tony continued. "I told her that we both….. loved her very much. I…. love you very much Jeanne and….. I'm going to miss you… but you need to go now…. And take care of Katie…..she's waiting for you."

Brad noticed a decrease in Jeanne heart rate so went to get Gibbs. When they both returned Tony was trying to get out of the wheelchair.

"Tony, what's wrong." Gibbs asked as he hurried to Tony's side.

"I need to give her a kiss…..but my legs…..won't work…..I can't kiss her."

"Hey it's ok calm down." Gibbs soothed. "Brad and I will help you stand so you can give her a kiss."

Brad and Gibbs moved to either side of Tony and gently helped him to stand. He moaned in pain but he didn't want to stop. When he was standing he leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on Jeanne's forehead. "I love you, Jeanne. I love you so much."

Brad and Gibbs then gently eased him back into the chair as Helen said her goodbyes.

"She loves you too Tony." Helen said when Tony was settled. "She called me yesterday to tell me everything was ok between you again and she was very happy."

Tony gave a slight nod and tried to stop himself from crying. Gibbs squeezed his shoulder giving him some comfort. They sat in silence for a few minutes just waiting. When the heart monitor finally flat lined the tears poured down Tony's face and Gibbs pulled him into a hug. Helen too was crying and came over beside Tony and joined in with the hug. After a few minutes Brad interrupted them and they broke apart.

"Tony we really need to get you back to bed" he said. "You are way past due for your meds."

"Alright." Tony sighed and with one last glance at Jeanne, he was wheeled out of the room followed be Helen. Abby ran to Tony and gave him a gentle hug. "I'm so sorry Tony."

"Thanks Abby." Tony mumbled. "Thanks for being… here guys."

"No problem Tony." McGee replied for all of them as Tony was wheeled away.

When they got back to Tony's room he was lifted into bed and Brad gave him a quick examination before administering the medication.

"I'll be back in the morning." Brad said more to Gibbs than Tony.

"Thanks Brad." Gibbs replied and the doctor left the two men alone.

As soon as Brad was gone Tony started sobbing. Gibbs climbed onto the bed beside Tony and pulled the younger man into a hug. After a while the sobbing subsided and Gibbs tried to ease Tony back against the bed but Tony gripped onto his shirt and wouldn't let go. Gibbs sighed and moved so that he was lying on the bed with Tony leaning against his chest. Tony quickly fell asleep and again Gibbs tried to move but was stopped when Tony gripped his shirt again. Gibbs sighed as he kicked off his shoes and pulled the covers over both of them.

Half an hour later Helen came into the room and smiled at the two men.

"How is he holding up." She whispered to Gibbs.

"He's upset." Gibbs replied "But he'll be ok, eventually. How are you coping?"

"I really don't know." she sighed. "I've just lost my only child and grandchild. I don't know how to feel."

"Sometime it takes a while for it to hit." Gibbs sighed. "Do you have somewhere to stay."

"I have booked into a hotel." Helen replied. "Ducky has offered to drive me there. He is quite an interesting man."

"That he is." Gibbs agreed. "You shouldn't be alone. Is there anyone that can stay with you."

"My sister will be here in a few hours." Helen replied. "I will be alright until then. We will make the funeral arrangements tomorrow for both of them. I'll call by to check on Tony and let you know the details."

"I'd appreciate that." Gibbs replied. "Will they be buried here?"

"Yes I think so." She replied "Although I'm not sure where."

"My wife and daughter are buried here. There are 2 open plots beside them. You can use one if you'd like."

"Yes I would like that." She replied. "I will get the details from Ducky. Take care of Tony and I'll see you both tomorrow."

"Good night." Gibbs called softly as she left the room.

Gibbs spent the rest of the night with Tony and managed to get some sleep. The nurses came in a few times during the night to check on Tony and while Gibbs woke each time, Tony remained asleep.

* * *

_A/N: Hey guys I know some are you are by now really annoyed with me for killing Jeanne and I also know some will be delighted. Sorry but this is what my brain came up with. Thanks for all the wonderful review I appreciate them very much._


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Thursday

Gibbs woke the next morning due to pressure in his bladder. He gently tried to move Tony without waking him but again Tony grabbed onto his shirt.

"Hey Tony, its ok." Gibbs assured. "I just need the head and I'll be back."

Tony woke slightly and let go of Gibbs. Gibbs hurried to the bathroom and then returned to Tony to find a nurse there checking Tony's vitals.

Tony was sitting up with a blank look on his face as the nurse moved around the room. He barely blinked when she changed him and gave him a bed bath. When she was finally done and had left, Gibbs again sat on the bed beside Tony and again Tony laid his head on Gibbs chest.

"We are going to get through this Tony." Gibbs assured as he hugged the other man. "Helen will be back today to arrange the funeral. They will be buried here"

"Will I be able to go to the funerals boss?" Tony asked sadly "Will they let me out."

"I'll make sure they do." Gibbs assured. "I'll talk to Dr. Philips and Brad later."

"Don't you have to go to work boss." Tony asked.

"No, McGee spoke to Jenny last night and she is giving the case to another team. I've taken a few weeks off and the others will take a few days off for the funeral. We'll all be here for you Tony, I'm not going anywhere."

"Thanks boss." Tony replied as a tear rolled down his cheek. "Thanks for staying last night."

"It's ok Tony. I know what you are going through."

"Yeah you do." Tony sighed. "But it would have been worse for you. I didn't even get to know Katie and I miss her so much. You got to know Kelly for years. I wouldn't be able to deal with that as well as loosing my wife. I'm not that strong."

"You are stronger than you think Tony." Gibbs replied. "And believe me I was a mess at first. It took me quite a while to deal with what happened."

"Did they catch the guy who hit Jeanne?"

"They did." Gibbs replied "I'll get Ziva to check on his case. Now do you think you can do your breathing exercises?"

Tony gave a small nod and then started the exercises. When he finished he was tired again and his eyes were closing. He again leaned against Gibbs and started to fall asleep. He was woken a few minutes later when a nurse arrived with breakfast. She left the tray with 2 breakfasts in front of them and then left the room.

Gibbs moved the tray closer to them and took a bite of the food.  
"You need to eat something Tony." Gibbs said when he noticed Tony wasn't eating.

"Not hungry." Tony mumbled.

"I know Tony, but you need to try and eat something to keep your strength up."

Tony reluctantly picked up a slice of toast and after taking 2 bites he left it back down. "I feel sick boss."

"It's ok Tony, just sleep." Gibbs sighed as he continued to eat.

By the time the nurse returned to collect the trays Tony was fast asleep. Just as the nurse was leaving, Brad and Dr. Philips entered.

"How was he last night?" Brad asked.

"He slept all night." Gibbs replied quietly. "He only had 2 bites of toast this morning."

"I wouldn't have much of an appetite either if I was him." Dr. Philips said. "Does he have any further feeling back in his legs?"

"I don't know." Gibbs sighed. "He didn't say much. He wants to go to the funerals."

"He really is in no condition to be out of hospital." Dr. Philips said.

"I know that, but he needs to go." Gibbs growled. "Do what you have to but he will be going to the funerals."

"We'll see what we can do Gibbs." Brad replied. "I'll be going so can keep an eye on him."

"Good." Gibbs replied as the two doctors started checking Tony, who remained asleep.

"Are you still giving him sedatives?" Gibbs asked when they finished.

"He wasn't given any this morning." Dr. Philips replied. "But they are still in his system since last night, so he will be tired. Let him sleep, it's the best thing for him at the moment. You should take a break as well."

"I can't doc." Gibbs replied with a smile. "He won't let go of me. He barely let me leave to go to the head."

"Then I suggest you relax and watch some TV." Brad said with a grin as he handed Gibbs the TV remote. "I'll be back later to check on him. If he wakes get him to do his breathing exercises."

"I will." Gibbs replied and the 2 doctors left.

Gibbs watched some TV as Tony continued to sleep. Helen arrived a little after 11 with her sister in tow.

"Gibbs this is my sister Jean, Jean this is Gibbs Tony's father." Helen said when she entered.

"Please to meet you." Gibbs replied not bothering to correct her. "Please call me Jethro."

"Jethro." Both women replied.

"How is Tony?" Helen asked

"He's alright." Gibbs sighed as he glanced down at Tony who was still asleep against him. "He slept through the night but they gave him a sedative. He's been sleeping most of the morning. How are you?"

"As well as can be expected." Helen replied "I have made the arrangements. Dr. Mallard has offered his house for the wake. Jeanne and Katie will be moved there later today and tonight we will have people come over. They will be taken to the cemetery tomorrow lunch time to be buried."

"Good." Gibbs replied.

"Will Tony be able to attend?" Helen asked as she picked up Tony's chart and examined it.

"His doctors have okayed it and Brad will be there to make sure he is ok."

"I see here he is on continuous oxygen." Helen observed. "We can have a portable tank set up with a wheelchair for him."

"Ducky will have a bedroom ready for him to use if he needs it."

"The notes on the chart are very extensive." Helen said as she continued to read. "It says here he's had the plague."

"That's right." Gibbs replied smiling fondly at Tony "He's been through a lot."

"Poor boy." Jean said with a sad smile.

"Hmmm." Tony mumbled as his eyes flicked open.

"Hey Tony." Gibbs said "Helen and her sister are here to see you."

"Oh um hi." Tony replied groggily as he pushed himself up a bit and started coughing

"How are you feeling Tony?" Helen asked kindly when he stopped coughing.

"I'm ok. A bit tired but I'll be fine."

"That's good, this is my sister Jean."

"It's nice to meet you Jean, Jeanne….. has told me a lot about you." Tony replied sadly.

"The funeral arrangements have been made." Helen continued. "Ducky has offered us his house for the wake and I believe Gibbs has arranged that you will be able to attend."

"That's very kind of Ducky." Tony replied "Have…. they said I could leave Gibbs."

"Yeah, Brad will be with us the whole time in case anything happens. You'll be in a wheelchair and you'll have oxygen with you."

"But." Tony protested.

"No complaints Tony." Gibbs interrupted. "Dr. Philips didn't want to let you out at all and you really shouldn't be let out in your condition."

"Jethro is right Tony." Helen added. "I've had a look at your chart and you really should be resting but we understand why you need to go."

"I'll be fine." Tony assured "And besides Brad will be there, you'll….. be there, Ducky will be there…. as well as half the Doctors from here….if anything happens I'll have plenty…..of doctors to help."

"Yes you will." Helen replied with a sad smile. "Now you need to get some rest, it's going to be a long few days and we don't want you to get any sicker."

"Thanks Helen. I'll see you later….. Call Gibbs if you need anything."

"I will Tony." She replied and then they headed out of the room.

They were just gone when Abby and McGee arrived in.

"Hey guys." Tony greeted

"Oh Tony." Abby replied as a tear slid down her cheek. "My poor Tony."

"I'm ok Abbs." He assured. "Tim can you do me a favour, I need …..a suit and shirt and things from my …apartment. Would you be able to ….pick them up for me."

"Yeah sure Tony." McGee replied and made note of exactly what Tony wanted.

Gibbs slowly got up from the bed and stretched "I'm just going to get coffee. Will you be ok until I get back?"

"He'll be fine." Abby assured as she took Gibbs' place on the bed.

Tony smiled at Abby and after giving Gibbs a slight nod, the older man left the room.

"Do you need us to do anything for you Tony?" Abby asked as Tony leaned against her.

"Not really. I just need my suit for the funeral.....for the funeral" Tony replied sadly

"No problem Tony." Abby replied giving him a hug. "Just let us know if there is anything you need."

"I will Abby." Tony assured and again started coughing.

Abby helped Tony sit up as he continued to cough. He eventually stopped and McGee helped him drink some water.

"Thanks." Tony replied as he lay back and rested his head on Abby's arm.

"Get some sleep." Abby instructed as she pulled the blankets up further around him.

Tony closed his eyes and started to drift off. Gibbs arrived back a few minutes later and Abby gently got up and let Gibbs back on the bed. Tony woke for a minute and when Gibbs was comfortable Tony leaned on him again and quickly fell asleep.

"After you collect his clothes go to my house and get my suit. I don't think I'll be leaving here anytime soon."

"I think you're right." Abby replied with a smile.

"After you drop them back here call Ducky and see if he needs a hand setting things up for the wake."

"Sure thing." Abby replied and gave Gibbs a hug and kiss.  
"Yes boss." McGee replied and he and Abby left the room.

Gibbs switched on the TV and settled in for the day.

McGee and Abby drove to Tony's apartment and using the key Gibbs had given them they entered.

"I've never been here before." McGee said as the entered.

"What?" Abby gasped. "You've know Tony for years and you never came to his apartment."

"Well no." McGee replied. "I never had a reason to. He invited me over once or twice but I was busy."

"I've been here a few times." Abby replied. "But we mostly go to my place to watch DVDs or hang out."

"It's much cleaner than I expected." Tim observed "And it's really nice and big."

"Yeah I love this place." Abby agreed as the walked through the kitchen and down the hall towards the bedrooms.

"This place is really spacious." McGee said. "3 bedrooms, big kitchen and dining room, big sitting room."

"The bedrooms are big too." Abby said and dragged Tim into one of the spare rooms.

"This is where I've stayed a few times." Abby said as she dragged him back out. "It's really nice and the bed is so comfortable. He uses the other bedroom as an office so we won't go in there. The last room is Tony's."

"Wow." McGee gasped as they entered. "This is so not what I expected."

"What did you expect?" Abby asked as she glanced around the cream coloured room with chocolate brown trims.  
"I don't know." McGee said. "I suppose black silk sheets, mirrors over the bed, that kind of thing."

"McGee, Tony is not like that." Abby squealed and hit Tim on the shoulder. "He never has women here and he has great taste."

"Sorry Abby." Tom apologised. "This room is really nice; I'm not surprised by the huge closet and the en suite."

"Tony does have a lot of clothes." Abby agreed as she pulled open the closet.

"Wow." McGee gasped as he looked into the walk-in closet. "That's a hell of a lot of clothes. We better start looking or we'll never get out of here."

"Yeah." Abby agreed and they both started searching for the clothes Tony had requested. Half an hour later they had found everything and McGee had packed some toiletries.

They locked up and headed for Gibbs house. When they arrived they headed straight for the bed room and pulled open the closet. They both sighed in relief as they saw the suit hanging to one side of the small but neatly organised closet. They packed some toiletries for Gibbs and then headed back to the hospital. On the way Abby rang Ducky and offered their help to get the house organised. Ducky happily accepted the help although both Jimmy and Ziva were already there.

They stopped to get Gibbs some coffee and then returned to Tony's room. Tony was still fast asleep.

"Did you get what he wanted?" Gibbs asked quietly.

"Yes boss." McGee replied as he hung up both suits on a hook. "It took us a while to find them but we think they are the right ones."

"His closet is big alright." Gibbs replied with a small grin. "At least it's organised."

"We never would have found things otherwise." Abby agreed as she handed Gibbs the coffee. "We are going over to Ducky's now. Ziva and Jimmy are helping him but he said he could do with some more help. He said there will be a lot of people there and needs chairs set out. It'll be too cold for Tony to be outside so everything will be set up inside."

"That's good." Gibbs replied "We'll be there about 6. Ask Ducky to have a room ready for Tony in case he needs to lie down."

"Will do bossman." Abby replied and she and McGee hurried out and to Ducky's.

When they arrived, there were a lot of people there setting things up.

They hurried to find Ducky who was in the large back room with Jimmy and Ziva.

"Ah Abigail, Timothy, good of you to join us." Ducky called when he saw them.

"Hey guys." Abby replied. "What do you need us to do?"

"You can help us set out some more chairs." Ziva said "And we need help bringing in the drinks."

"Cool." Abby replied and started putting out chairs. "Oh Ducky, Gibbs said to make sure there was somewhere for Tony to lie down."

"Of course my dear." Ducky replied "I have the downstairs bedroom ready for him. Mother is away for the next few days so there will be no interruptions. This reminds me of a wake I attended back in Scotland. It was for a dear friend of mine, she was in a car crash while she was pregnant and both she and the infant died. Very sad."

"I feel so bad for Tony." Jimmy said. "He just got back together with her and now she's gone and he was so excited about being a dad."

"I would have thought he would hate being a father." McGee added. "I mean this is Tony, he's probably relieved that he isn't going to happen."

"Tim." Abby screeched and hit him hard on the shoulder. "That is a horrible thing to say. Tony would never want for someone to die. You saw him, he is devastated."

"Yeah but that's because of Jeanne, I mean he didn't even know the baby."

"No he didn't know her." Jimmy said "but he will miss her, she was his daughter, even if it was only for a while."

"I didn't mean it like that." McGee sighed "I just never saw Tony as being a father or even wanting children."

"He has changed a lot recently lad." Ducky said. "He has grown up. Now lets get on with this, the caterers will be arriving soon, as will the caskets."

"Yes of course Ducky." Ziva said and they all got back to work.

A nurse arrived with 2 trays of lunch so Gibbs gently woke Tony. Tony reluctantly woke up and managed a few spoons of soup. Gibbs sighed when Tony said he had enough. He knew well enough that Tony was too upset to eat but he also knew that Tony needed to eat to get well again. Gibbs finished his lunch and pushed both trays away. He then stood up, stretched and started walking away from the bed.

"Where are you going?" Tony asked in a panicked tone.

"I'm just going to the head." Gibbs replied. "I'll be back in a minute."

"Oh ok." Tony replied

Gibbs returned a few minutes later and climbed back onto the bed beside Tony.

"Sorry I'm being a baby boss." Tony sighed. "I know you have better things to do than sit here with me."

"You are not being a baby." Gibbs growled. "And I'll stay here as long as you need me. There is nothing more important."

"Thanks boss." Tony replied with a yawn.

"Get some rest. I'll wake you in a while to get ready."

"Sure." Tony replied and closed his eyes. "I hate being so tired."

"I know." Gibbs agreed "I know."

* * *

_A/n: Thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed or added the story for alerts Etc. I am delighted by the response this story has gotten. This chapter is just a filler hope you enjoy._


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Helen and Jean arrived at Ducky's house shortly after lunch to help out. The team were just after having lunch and were cleaning up.

"Ah Helen, Jean." Ducky greeted. "Welcome."

"Thank you Ducky." Helen replied. "I must say this place looks just wonderful. You have a lovely home."

"Thank you for saying so. Now is there anything else that you need us to do."

"No it looks perfect." Helen replied. "Have the caterers arrived yet."

"Not yet, but they are on their way. They rang for directions. The caskets are also due in the next hour."

"That's good. I can't thank you enough for letting us use your home."

"It's my pleasure." Ducky replied. "Anthony is like a grandson to me and I will do anything I can to make this time easier for everyone."

"You are a kind man." Jean said. "How is Tony today."

"He's sleeping a lot." Abby piped up. "Also Gibbs said he hasn't eaten much."

"That's to be expected." Ducky sighed. "Grief tends to make one lose their appetite and Anthony didn't have much of one before this."

"No that's true." Abby agreed. "For someone who's always hungry, it's strange that he looses his appetite every time he is sick or hurt."

"Poor boy." Ducky sighed "Now Helen, Jean, lets go to the kitchen and I can show you what we have ready."

"Yes of course." Helen replied and they both followed Ducky.

The others continued setting up chairs and rearranging furniture and before they knew it, it was time to leave and get ready. They each went to their separate homes, showered and got changed before heading back to Ducky's house.

Meanwhile at the hospital Gibbs again woke Tony. The nurse's then gave him a bed bath and washed his hair. While they were doing that Gibbs went to have a shower. The nurses were just finished as Gibbs returned. Gibbs then helped Tony to shave before he got dressed. Just when Gibbs had finished dressing Brad and Dr. Philips arrived in.

"Hey Tony are you ready to get dressed." Brad said.

"Sure." Tony replied as the three men moved beside him.

"Alright Tony." Dr. Philips said. "First we are going to disconnect the catheters from the IV ports. The ports will have to remain in place."

"Ok." Tony said as the two Doctors got to work.

"Now we are just going to remove the monitors." Brad said as they started to disconnect everything.

"We'll put on your t-shirt and shirt first." Brad continued and Gibbs got the clothes as Brad and Dr. Philips checked the wounds. They then help Tony get his clothes on.

"We have to leave the urinary catheter in." Dr. Philips said as they pulled back the sheet. "We are going to attach it to a collection bag which we will strap to your leg so it won't be visible. We can take the diaper off for the moment. You haven't eaten much so there shouldn't be a problem. But make sure you tell someone if you feel you need to go."

"Thanks." Tony replied and closed his eyes as they continued what they were doing.

"We are going to put your pants on now." Brad advised as Gibbs handed him Tony's boxers and pants. They then eased him into his boxers and then his pants. When they had that done they helped him with his socks and shoes.

"I'm just going to get the wheelchair." Dr. Philips advised as Brad helped Tony into his jacket and Gibbs helped him with his tie.

When Dr. Philips returned they helped Tony into the wheelchair and reconnected the nasal cannula to the portable tank which was on the back of the chair. They adjusted the legs rests and then strapped Tony in.

"I don't need to be strapped in." Tony protested as he pulled on the strap across his waist.

"Tony you are exhausted." Brad sighed. "We don't want you falling out. This will make sure you don't. We won't put the strap around your chest."

"Fine." Tony sighed.

"Let's get going." Gibbs suggested and moved behind the wheelchair and began pushing.

When they got outside there was a car waiting. The car was specially designed for wheelchairs so they where able to get Tony in without having to take him out of the chair. Gibbs got in beside Tony and Brad and Dr. Philips got into the front and they headed for Ducky's house. They arrived a short while later and helped Tony out of the car. Gibbs again steered the wheelchair and they made their way into the back room where the coffins were set up.

"Hello Tony, Gibbs." Helen greeted and gave Tony a gentle hug. "How are you holding up."

"I'm fine." Tony assured. "How about you."

"The same." She replied with a sad smile. "Would you like to spend a few minutes with them before everyone else arrives?"

"Yeah I would." Tony replied and Gibbs started moving him towards the caskets. They had placed them low enough so that Tony would be able to look at them.

"I'll leave you for a few minutes." Gibbs said and moved a bit away from Tony.

Tony looked at Jeanne in the casket and a tear rolled down his face.

"I'm so sorry for… everything Jeanne." He sobbed. "I love you so much and I'll make…. sure the guy who did this gets what he….deserves. I'm going to miss you Jeanne…. I thought things were finally going….to turn out ok for us…..but I should have know, my life…. Doesn't work like that. I have…..to say goodbye to Katie now….keep each other company. I love you."

Tony kissed his fingers and placed them on Jeanne lips and then tried to move the wheelchair so he could see Katie but he didn't have the strength. Gibbs hurried over to him and wheeled him into place.

"Thanks boss." Tony mumbled as Gibbs returned to where he was standing.

"Hi Katie, it's daddy again. I just…. want you to know how much….I love you. I know I only just….found about you but I was so happy…..I'm sorry that we aren't going to…get to play games and stuff…..but your mommy will take care of you now." Tony again kissed his fingers and then gently placed them on Katie's forehead. "I love you Katie, never forget that."

Seeing that Tony was finished Gibbs went back over and crouched down beside Tony. "Are you ok."

"No, but I will be." Tony replied as he dried his tears.

Gibbs stood up and approached Katie's coffin. He two kissed his fingers and then placed them on Katie's forehead, he then done the same for Jeanne.

"Let's go into the sitting room until they are ready to start." Gibbs said and wheeled the younger agent out of the room. He brought him to the sitting room where the rest of the team and the 2 doctors were gathered.

"Oh Tony." Abby cried and ran towards him. She stopped in front of him and gave him a gentle hug.

"Thanks Abby." Tony replied with a small smile. "Thanks for being here."  
"Of course we'd be here Tony." Abby replied. "Do you want a drink or something to eat?"

"No I'm ok thanks." He replied

"Just call if you want anything." Abby said as she went back to her seat.

Gibbs wheeled Tony over beside a chair and then Gibbs sat down. They sat their in silence for 10 minutes before the funeral director came to get them. They all went back to the room where a priest was waiting. When everyone had taken their seats he began. After a while he invited people up to speak about Jeanne, Helen went first.

"Firstly I would like to thank you all for coming. I'm happy to see my daughter had so many friends and colleagues who cared about her. Jeanne had wanted to be a doctor since she was a little girl playing with her plastic doctor set. She wanted to make a difference, to help people and save lives. She was a very active and outgoing person even in the past few months while she was pregnant. This past year had been full of ups and downs but I know that in her last few days she was the happiest I'd ever seen her. She rang me just the other night to tell me how happy she was. Herself and Tony had sorted things out and were back together and expecting their child. At one point during the call she started crying and I thought something was wrong. She told me she was crying because she was happy. She was also worried about Tony because he was so sick but she knew he would get better. I got to meet my granddaughter Katie for a few minutes before she died and she was such a sweet baby. It's a tragedy that their lives were cut so short and I'll miss them both very much."

Some of Jeanne friends went up next and told stories about her. By the time they had finished there were tears wetting Tony's face and Gibbs had a strong, but gentle grip on his arm. Gibbs noticed he seem a little short for breath so called Brad over. Brad hurried to the front and crouched down in front of Tony.

"Tony are you ok." He asked in hushed tones.

"No." Tony gasped as he gripped Gibbs' hand.

"Just relax Tony I'm going to turn up the oxygen and you'll be fine." Brad assured.

Helen also came over when she saw Brad and gently held Tony's other hand.

"Just breath through your nose." She said. "We're here, you'll be fine."

It took a few minutes but eventually Tony's breathing returned to normal and the priest continued with a blessing for the bodies. When the priest had finished, everyone got a chance to view the bodies and sympathise with the family. Many people came over to Tony and said some kind words. When everyone had finished they returned to the large sitting room and had some food. Tony was brought to the downstairs bedroom and Brad and Gibbs helped him into bed.

"You need to rest for a bit Tony." Brad said as he connected a bag of fluids to one of the IV ports and then injected some meds into it. "Stay here until the fluids are gone."

"Ok." Tony replied to their surprise.

"I'll stay with him." Gibbs said as he sat on the bed beside Tony. "I'll call if we need you."

"Alright." Brad agreed as he put away his equipment. "I won't be far."

"Thanks." Tony replied as he moved closer to Gibbs.

Gibbs put his arm around the younger man and held him close as Brad left the room.

Tony didn't sleep but lay there for over half an hour just resting. There was a knock at the door and Gibbs told whoever it was to come in. It was Helen.

"How is he?" she asked quietly

"I'm fine." Tony replied.

"I'm sorry, I thought you were asleep." Helen said as she moved beside Tony and checked his pulse.

"No." Tony replied. "I don't need to sleep."

"He just needs to rest a while and get those fluids into him." Gibbs said indicating to the half empty bag.

"Would you like me to bring you some food?" she asked them both.

"We're alright for the moment." Gibbs replied.

"I'll leave you alone for another while." She said and left the room.

A half an hour later Brad returned and disconnected the fluids.

"You can go back out there if you want." He said "Or you can stay in here for another while."

"I'll go back out." Tony sighed

They helped him back into the wheelchair after Brad checked him over and then went back to the crowd.

Tony was shocked to see some of his Frat brothers in the crowd and many people from NCIS were there.

"Why are they all here boss." Tony asked.

"They came for you." Gibbs replied.

"Why?"

"You just lost your girlfriend and daughter. They are here to show you that they care."  
"That was nice of them. I…I didn't expect anyone to come."

"People care about you Tony." Gibbs said "We'll all be here for you"

"Thank boss." Tony replied.

They moved over to the group and listened to people telling stories.

Helen came over after a while and asked if she could speak to Tony. Tony agreed and Gibbs wheeled him into another room and Helen followed.

"What's wrong Helen?" Tony asked as she sat down in front of him.

"Nothing is wrong Tony." She assured. "I just wanted to talk to you about Jeanne's will."

"Her will." Tony repeated.

"Yes, her father left her quite a bit of money. She spoke to a lawyer a few days ago and had her will changed. You are listed as the beneficiary. Well you and Katie but now it all goes to you."

"Oh." Tony replied softly "Why would she do that?"

"Because she loved you." Helen smiled. "She wanted to take care of you and her daughter if anything was to happen to her."

"What about you?"

"Me, I don't need the money. I took half of Renee's fortune when we divorced. No it is all for you."

"I can't take it." Tony protested.

"Yes you can. I know Jeanne didn't tell me everything that happened between the two of you, but I do know that you are not a professor but work for NCIS and I know that your car was destroyed."

"Helen I……"

"It's alright Tony. I know you were doing your job, but I also know that you loved Jeanne."

"I did." Tony replied softly.

"That's all that matters now." Helen assured. "Now, I'll get the money transferred to your accounts tomorrow. You should take a holiday, both of you; you'll be off work for a while anyway. The villa in the south of France is also yours; you could spend some time there."

"He owns a villa." Gibbs said.

"I'll think about it." Tony replied. "Right now I just want to get through… this without collapsing. But thank you."

"It's ok Tony I understand. We'll discuss it when all this is over and you are feeling better. I just wanted you to know."

"Thank you." Tony replied.

"We should go back out." Gibbs suggested and the three joined the rest of the people.

Gibbs went to get something to eat and after filling his plate he returned to Tony. He tried to get Tony to eat something but he refused. The rest of the evening past quickly as many of Tony's friends and colleagues came over to talk to him. By the time everyone started to leave, Tony was exhausted and was nearly asleep in the wheelchair. Both Dr. Philips and Dr. Pitt were hovering near Tony in case he needed help.

"We should go." Gibbs said to Tony.

"Yeah." Tony mumbled "I'm tired."

"I'm just going to put the strap around your chest so you won't fall out." Gibbs said as he started pulling the strap around Tony.

"I don't want it." Tony whined.

"It's ok Tony." Gibbs assured as he buckled it in place. "It's to keep you safe until we get you back to the hospital."

"Ok." Tony sighed and Gibbs started wheeling him to the car. They said their goodbyes as they got into the car and then drove quickly to the hospital. By the time they arrived Tony was fast asleep only being held up by the straps. They quickly brought him inside and got him out of his suit and into bed. The doctors then reconnected all the monitors and IVs and after giving him his meds, they left him to sleep, telling Gibbs they would be back in the morning. Gibbs too changed out of his suit and sat in the chair next to the bed and fell asleep. He woke a while later when Tony started coughing. He helped Tony sit up and held him while he coughed. The nurse's came in to make sure he was ok and then left him to sleep. Tony lay down and tried to sleep but kept tossing and turning.

"What wrong Tony?" Gibbs asked after a few minutes.

"I can't get comfortable." Tony replied and they lapsed into silence again.

"Boss, are you still there." Tony asked after a few minutes.

"I'm here Tony." Gibbs assured and moved closer so Tony could see him.

"Oh ok." Tony sighed and closed his eyes again.

After a few minutes Gibbs got up from the chair and sat on the bed. Tony shuffled over a bit to give him some room and then leaned on Gibbs shoulder. Gibbs pulled the blankets up around both of them and then pulled Tony closer. Tony fell asleep within a few minutes. Gibbs fell asleep soon after that.

* * *

_A/n: Thank you so much for all the reviews. There are so many it'll take me a while to get through them but i will._


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Friday

The next morning arrived and Gibbs woke when a nurse came in to give Tony his meds. They let Tony sleep for as long as possible. They eventually woke him when Brad and Dr. Philips arrived to help him get dressed. They followed the same routine as the night before and soon had him ready. They also put a coat on him. They then brought him out to the car and straight to the cemetery. They made their way over to where Jeanne and Katie were being buried.

"Boss this is where Shannon and Kelly are buried." Tony said when they stopped at the graves.

"Yeah they are." Gibbs replied. "I had 2 other lots and I told Helen they could use one."

"Thank you boss." Tony said with a tear in his eye. "You didn't have to do that."

"They are your family and you are mine. It makes sense to have them here."

Just then the priest arrived so Gibbs pushed Tony over beside where Helen was sitting. After a few minutes the priest started and before they knew it both coffins were being lowered into the ground. Tony cried as he watched the caskets going down. Gibbs held his arm and allowed him to cry. Helen got up and threw some earth on the coffins and then Gibbs done the same as Tony couldn't.

They then headed back to Ducky's house for more food and drinks. Tony stayed in the sitting room and let everyone come to him to talk. Gibbs or one of his team stayed by his side the entire time. Everyone came over to talk to Tony and he was polite and replied but he wasn't in the mood to talk. People eventually started to leave and soon it was only the team, Dr. Pitt, Dr. Philips, Helen and Jean.

"Ducky thanks for letting us….use your house." Tony said when they had all sat down in the sitting room.

"It was the least I could do Anthony." He replied with a sad smile.

"We should tidy up." Jean said and started to gather glassed.

"Nonsense my dear." Ducky said outing the glass back down. "Timothy, Ziva, Abby and Jimmy are going to help do that later."

"Thank you Ducky you are very kind." Jean replied. "In that case we should get going. We have to meet with solicitors and go to Jeanne's apartment."

"Oh yes of course," Ducky replied.

"Tony I will come by to see you tomorrow." Helen said. "I'm going to be in town for a few more days."

"Thanks Helen." Tony replied.

"He is being transferred to Bethesda today." Gibbs said. "I'll call you and let you know which room he's in."

"Why Bethesda?" Helen asked.

"It's a military hospital." Gibbs replied. "Brad is based there and he knows the issue's with Tony's lungs better than anyone. His back is getting better so he doesn't need Dr. Philips as much as he needs Brad."

"I understand." Helen replied. "Take care of him and I'll see you tomorrow."

"Bye." The group called as the sisters left the house.

"Ok I think it's time to get you to Bethesda." Gibbs said to Tony.

"Boss isn't there a killer loose in Bethesda." Tony asked with a small grin.

"There might be." Gibbs replied. "So try not to piss off any of the staff."

"You could use me as bait." Tony suggested. "Do they know why she killed…..the lieutenant?"

"How do you know it was a she?" Ziva asked.

"Just a feeling." Tony replied "So do we know why."

"No we don't." Gibbs replied. "Let's get going."

They said goodbye to everyone and then got into the car. When they arrived at the hospital, Brad checked Tony in and they all went to his room. Brad called a nurse in to help him and Dr. Philips get Tony settled. Half an hour later Dr. Philips said goodbye and left Tony in Brad's capable hands. Brad had a comfortable reclining chair brought in for Gibbs and left instructions that Gibbs was to be allowed to stay at all times. After he had given Tony his meds he left them alone.

"Why do you think Jeanne left me the money?" Tony asked after a while.

"Because she loved you and wanted to take care of you and Katie if anything happened to her."

"Boss, that's money that was….made from selling weapons….Shouldn't we give it to someone."

"Not all of it Tony." Gibbs assured. "The frog had legitimate businesses that made quite a lot of money."

"Yeah I suppose." Tony replied with a yawn.

"Get some sleep." Gibbs instructed and climbed into the bed beside Tony.

"Thanks boss." He replied and made himself comfortable leaning on Gibbs.

Tony quickly fell asleep and Gibbs started reading a book he had brought with him. An hour later a nurse and 2 orderlies entered the room.

"We have to bring Mr. DiNozzo for an X-ray." The nurse said,

"Sure." Gibbs replied and gently eased away from Tony, who remained asleep.

When Gibbs was off the bed they pulled up the side rails and prepared the equipment to be moved.

"We'll be back with him in half and hour." The nurse said. "Why don't you go get a coffee."

"I will." Gibbs replied and headed for the nearest coffee shop.

He returned 20 minutes later and was only in the room a few minutes before they brought Tony back. He was still fast asleep and remained so as they changed his bandages and checked his vitals.

"Dr. Pitt will be here shortly to talk to you." The nurse informed Gibbs before she left the room.

Half an hour later Brad arrived into the room. "How's our patient."

"You tell me." Gibbs replied

"The x-rays show a bit more congestion, so we are going to work on that over the next few days. We need to get him eating again to build up his strength."

"Alright. What else do we need to do?"

"We are going to have to make sure he does his breathing exercises more often and we'll have to help him clear his lungs."

"Should I wake him now?" Gibbs asked.

"Yeah, we might as well get started now."

"Hey Tony." Gibbs called as he gently shook Tony's shoulder. "Time to wake up."

"M'tired." Tony mumbled opening his eyes slightly.

"I know but we need you to do your breathing exercises, then you can go back to sleep."

"K." Tony groaned and opened his eyes fully.

Brad and Gibbs helped him to sit up a bit more and then Brad handed him the device. Tony took it and started his exercises. When he finished he was exhausted and breathing heavily.

"Who would…..have thought….that breathing….could be so…..tiring." Tony gasped as Brad turned up the oxygen.

"It'll get easier the more often you do it." Brad assured. "There is a bit more congestion in your lungs so we need to do this more often."

"Ok." Tony agreed "I can do that."

"You also need to start eating."

"I'll try." Tony sighed "I just feel ….nauseous the whole time…..so don't want food."

"I know Tony and I understand but it isn't helping your recovery. Try eating a small amount often. I don't want to have to put in a feeding tube but I will if I have to."

"I'll try." Tony agreed.

"Good, now I'm just going to get the chest vibrator." Brad said and left the room. He returned a few minutes later with the machine. He helped Tony onto his side and began the process. After a few minutes Tony started coughing hard and Gibbs suctioned away the sputum. Tony sighed in relief when Brad turned off the machine.

They helped Tony sit back up and Brad checked his vitals.

"You need a dose of the steroids now." Brad said and prepared the mask. He removed the nasal cannula and replaced it with the mask, then turned on the oxygen.

"That should take about half an hour." Brad said. "Don't take it off and I'll be back soon to check on you.

Tony spent the next half an hour dozing while he breathed in the steroids. Brad returned a while later and removed the mask and returned the cannula. Tony took a drink of water to get rid of the taste and then closed his eyes.

"Dinner will be brought in soon." Brad said as he prepared to leave. "Try to eat some Tony."

"Ok." Tony mumbled.

Tony fell asleep while they were waiting for the food. When it arrived Gibbs again gently woke him. The food was horrible so Tony only managed two bites. Even Gibbs couldn't eat his.

"I hate hospital food." Gibbs growled.

"You should go….get something proper." Tony said "I'll be fine."

"I'll be quick." Gibbs replied and grabbed his wallet.

He hurried to a nearby restaurant and ordered 2 portions of lasagne for take away. He then snuck them back to the hospital room and set one out for Tony and the other for himself. Tony smiled as he saw the Italian food and took a bite."

"Mmmm this is good." Tony commented.

"Yup." Gibbs replied and continued to eat.

Tony ate nearly half of his and then Gibbs finished it. Gibbs quickly disposed of the containers before the nurse came in and removed the trays.

When the nurse had left, Tony again did his breathing exercises. He and Gibbs then watched a movie on the TV. Tony fell asleep towards the end so Gibbs switched off the TV and stretched. The nurse arrived soon after and gave Tony his meds and checked his vitals. She then replaced the nasal cannula with the mask and gave Tony another steroid treatment. When everything was done Gibbs sat back in the chair and pushed it back as far as it would go. He pulled a blanket over him and for the first time since Tony's accident he fell asleep and slept all night.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Saturday

They both woke the following morning when breakfast was brought in.

"This looks as bad as… the dinner." Tony whispered to Gibbs.

"It looks worse, those eggs look like rubber." Gibbs agreed.

They waited until the nurse had left before shoving the trays away.

"I'm sorry boss but…. I'm not eating that."

"I'll go see if I can find us something edible." Gibbs said and again grabbed his wallet and headed to the nearest diner.

When Gibbs got there it was very busy and he was told he'd be waiting a while. Gibbs left and went in search of a quieter place but couldn't find one. He eventually got some food and returned to the hospital. When he returned to the room Brad was just leaving.

"What's going on?" Gibbs asked.

"I just inserted the feeding tube." Brad sighed "The nurses said he didn't eat last night and he didn't eat his breakfast this morning."

"He didn't eat because the food is disgusting." Gibbs growled. "I have food here that he will eat. I got him lasagne last night and he ate half of it."

"You should have said." Brad sighed.

"I would have if you had waited for me." Gibbs continued. "Is he awake?"

"No, he was asleep when the nurse's came in. He stayed asleep while we inserted the tube."

"Can you take it out?" Gibbs asked

"I'd prefer to leave it in for now." Brad replied. "I know he isn't going to be happy about it but he needs more nourishment and he just isn't getting it from the small amount he is eating."

"Fine." Gibbs relented and entered the room.

"We have the steroid treatment on him again." Brad said following Gibbs into the room.

"When it's finished we'll change it to the nasal cannula. It'll be a little awkward with the NG tube in place but it'll be fine. I'll be back in half an hour to change it."

"Fine." Gibbs replied and took his seat. He pulled out his breakfast and ate it.

By the time Brad returned Gibbs was finished and had tidied up.

"I'm going to wake him first." Brad said as he moved beside Tony "Tony time to wake up."

"Mmm, hey." Tony mumbled as he opened his eyes.

"I'm just going to remove the mask and replace the cannula." Brad advised as he done this.

"Where's my breakfast." Tony asked Gibbs.

"I have it here." Gibbs replied and pulled out the container. "It might be a bit cold."

"It's fine." Tony replied and reached for the food. As he moved forward he felt something pull his cheek. "What's going on?" He asked moving his hand to his cheek.

"We inserted a feeding tube." Brad explained as he moved Tony's hand away.

"But I'm eating." Tony protested.

"I know Tony." Brad sighed "but it's not enough, you need more nourishment. We'll only use it as necessary but you'll need to tell us if you get food from outside of the hospital."

"Fine." Tony replied and started eating his breakfast.

"Call the nurse when you are finished we need to do a few things."

"We will." Gibbs replied

"I didn't know they were putting it in." Gibbs said when Brad had left. "It was already in when I got back."

"I know boss, its fine" Tony replied. "I just hate it being there."

When Tony had finished Gibbs called the nurse and she in turn called Brad. They then came into the room.

"Ok Tony, we need to see how much feeling you have in your legs." Brad said as he moved side Tony. "We are going to put you lying down and then do the usual checks."

"K." Tony replied as Gibbs moved beside him.

The nurse pulled up the sheet and Brad moved down to Tony's legs. "Alright Tony I'm going to start with the pen. Let me know when you feel it."

He had just started moving the pen when Tony gasped.

"What's wrong." Brad asked.

"I can feel it on my foot." Tony smiled.

"That's brilliant Tony." Brad grinned. "Now I'll do the same on the other foot."

"I can feel that too." Tony exclaimed.

"I'm just going to get a needle and test your toes." Brad said as he pressed the needle against the toes.

"I can kind of feel it." Tony confirmed "But it feels kind of like when you're cold."

"That's great Tony." Brad agreed. "Now let's see if you can move them."

Tony closed his eyes and concentrated on wiggling his toes.

"That's it Tony." Brad exclaimed as the toes started to wiggle. "You're doing it. Now try and lift your leg."

Tony again concentrated and he felt his legs move slightly.

"That's great Tony." Brad praised "Now try the other one."

Tony again managed to lift his leg slightly.

"That's really great Tony." Brad said. "Now we need to change your dressings and your catheter."

"Oh ok." Tony replied as they replaced the sheet over his legs and removed his gown.

They turned him onto his side and tended to the two wounds on his back. When they were cleaned and redressed they turned him back over and done the same for the one on his abdomen. They then changed the urinary catheter and cleaned the area before inserting a new one.

"With all the moving about you've been doing, we don't want you to get an infection." Brad explained as he inserted it.

"Ok." Tony groaned as he felt the catheter being pushed into place.

"All done." Brad said as he taped the tube to Tony's leg. "Now we are going to change your gown and the bed clothes."

"Um ok." Tony agreed.

"Don't worry you won't have to get out of bed." The nurse assured.

Brad gently rolled Tony to one side of the bed and held him there while the nurse loosened the sheets and folded under Tony. She then put on the new sheets and Brad rolled Tony to the other side as the nurse repeated the procedure on the other side. They then replaced the pillow covers, then Tony's gown and finally the sheets covering Tony.

"All done now." The nurse said as she gathered the dirty sheets.

"You can relax for a while now Tony, but make sure you do your breathing exercises." Brad said. "We'll be back after lunch to do some leg exercises."

"Great." Tony replied sarcastically as Brad left with a smile.

"Do you want to watch some TV." Gibbs asked.

"Sure." Tony replied "There is probably some Magnum reruns on."

"We'll see." Gibbs replied and started flicking through the channels. Sure enough he came across an episode of Magnum PI so left that on for Tony. It turned out to be a whole day dedicated to the show. Tony settled in to watch it for the day.

He occasionally took a break to do his breathing exercises and for lunch. Although he only had a few bites of the horrible food they had brought him. Gibbs offered to go out for something but Tony declined as he was not that hungry. Gibbs went to the canteen to get himself some lunch and by the time he returned with some coffee Tony was fast asleep. He looked down at his sleeping agent and sighed. Tony normally looked so young when he slept but at the moment he looked sick and frail. Even in his sleep Gibbs could make out the worry lines on Tony's face. The NG tube and nasal cannula just made it look so much worse. Gibbs sighed and again took his seat.

An hour later Brad returned to the room with a man Gibbs did not recognise and a nurse.

"Ah Gibbs," Brad greeted "This is our physical therapist Frank Alexander and nurse Theresa."

"Hello." Gibbs replied.

"We are going to start doing some exercises with Mr. DiNozzo today." Frank said.

"It's Tony." Both Brad and Gibbs said together.

"Ok Tony." Frank replied "He'll need a lot of Physio to get back into shape after this. We are going to work on the leg muscles to keep them loose."

"Alright." Gibbs agreed and moved over to Tony. "Hey Tony, time to wake up."

"Wha's wrong." Tony mumbled as he peeled open his eyes.

"The physio is here to do some exercises with you."

"Oh ok." Tony replied as he rubbed his eyes.

"Hi Tony, I'm Theresa and this is Frank." The nurse said "We'll be doing the exercises with you. Dr. Pitt will be staying to make sure we don't tire you out too much."

Tony nodded in agreement and then they got him into position.

They spent the next half hour doing the exercises and by the end of it Tony was sore and exhausted. After Brad gave him his meds the group left him to sleep.

They were no sooner gone when Tony fell asleep and Gibbs took the opportunity to get some more coffee and stretch his legs.

Tony didn't wake again until his dinner was brought in. Again he tried some but couldn't bring himself to eat the food. Gibbs relented and went out to get pizza. When he returned with Tony's favourite pizza, Tony managed to eat 2 slices and Gibbs ate the rest. When the nurse arrived Gibbs informed her of what Tony had eaten and she added it to his chart. Tony had just finished his breathing exercises when the door opened and the entire team came in carrying balloons and cards and Abby had a stuffed animal.

"Hey guys." Tony greeted.

"Tony, we brought some things to brighten up your new room." Abby said as she tied the balloons to the back of a chair. "I also brought you a teddy bear."

"Wow, thanks guys." Tony exclaimed.

"We wanted to get flowers but we were told you could not have them." Ziva said.

"The pollen irritates his chest." Gibbs explained as he re-arranged some of the cards.

"What's that new tube?" McGee asked as he looked at Tony.

"That is a nasogastric tube." Ducky explained. "It delivers nutrients to the patient directly to the stomach."

"Why does he need that Ducky?" Abby asked worriedly.

"They would only have put it in place if they felt he wasn't eating enough."

"My poor Tony." Abby said as she gave him a hug. "How are you feeling today?"

"I'm ok Abby." Tony assured. "How's work, have I missed anything?"

"Um I don't think so." Abby replied "Oh wait, Maria from accounts is pregnant."

"Oh that's great." Tony replied, a sad look passed over his face.

"We still haven't gotten anywhere with Lieutenant Auckland's murder." McGee added changing the subject. "We have no leads and no evidence to point to anyone."

"Do we still thinks it's….someone in the hospital that ….did it." Tony asked.

"Yes we think so." Ziva continued. "We cannot find anyone who would want to have killed him. He was a well liked man. We cannot needle point who in the hospital could be involved."

"Pin point." Tony corrected. "I suppose it could be anyone….here that did it."

"Yes we have ruled out many people who were off duty but it is like a pin in a haystack."

"A needle in a haystack, ZeeVaaa." Tony corrected again.

"Pin, needle, they are the same thing, what does it matter." Ziva muttered.

"It matters." Tony said. "So there are no doctors or nurses…..whose orders he wouldn't follow…..or some candy striper that had to change…..his bed pan once too often."

"What is a candy striper?" Ziva asked.

"A candy striper is a volunteer who works in the hospital." Jimmy explained. "They are normally high school students and they do clerical jobs or janitorial."

"So they would have much to do with patients." Gibbs queried.

"No, because of insurance liabilities they would have very little contact with patients." Jimmy continued

"So it couldn't have been one of them." McGee concluded.

"That's not strictly true." Tony objected. "They have um… what are they called. I think its 'advanced volunteers' and…… they deal with patients, they are kind of like orderlies. They help out a lot…. with patients especially if it's busy. They…. even sometimes wear scrubs, but not often. A…. lot of these might be med students or people…..who want to have a career in the medical….profession"

"How the hell do you know all this DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked in surprise

"Jeanne told me about it." Tony replied sadly.

"Did you check out the candy stripers?" Gibbs asked Ziva and McGee

"Oh, ah, no boss." McGee stuttered. "We ah didn't think of them."

"Do it first thing tomorrow." Gibbs barked. "Did you check out the orderlies and the janitorial staff?"

"Yes of course." Ziva replied. "We checked out everyone who is employed by the hospital."

"We just never thought to check the volunteers." McGee added quietly.

"Well go get a list of them now." Gibbs barked "You might as well do it while you're here."

"Yes Gibbs." They replied and hurried out the door.

"That was good thinking Anthony." Ducky praised.

"Yeah it was." Abby agreed and looked expectantly at Gibbs.

"I thought they were off the case." Tony said.

"They took a break but are back on it now." Gibbs said as he stood up from his chair and moved beside Tony. He ruffled Tony's hair and said "Ata Boy. Now I'm going for coffee, behave when I'm gone."

"I will." Tony assured with a grin.

Ziva and McGee arrived back half an hour later with a short list of volunteers. Gibbs arrived soon after that and then the team minus Gibbs left. They were just out the door when Helen arrived in.

"Tony how are you feeling." She asked as she entered. "Oh my why did they put in a feeding tube."

"They thought I wasn't eating." Tony grumbled. "I just wasn't eating…..the hospital food."

"Yes the food can be quite bad." Helen replied. "Are you getting enough oxygen with it in place?"

"I think so." Tony replied. "They increased what is going into the other nostril."

"Good, Good." Helen said. "I was over at Jeanne's apartment today to start packing some things. Is there anything there that you want?"

"If there are any pictures of us together and um…..she had an Ohio state sweater that she wore, if…. that's still there could I have it?"

"Of course dear." Helen replied. "I'll have a look tomorrow. I just cleaned out the fridge today and cleaned up a bit."

"Now tell me how are you really feeling?" Helen asked as she sat at the edge of the bed.

"A bit tired." Tony admitted. "I started physio today and my back is a bit sore now."  
"How is your breathing."

"Brad seems to be happy enough with…. it for the moment."

"Have you gotten back anymore feeling in your legs."

"I can feel nearly all of my legs now. But I still can't move them much."

"That will take time." Helen assured. "How are you coping with everything?"

"I don't know." He sighed "I kind of feel like there is a hole….in my stomach. I want to cry…..but then I want to shout or do both and I don't…..want to be alone."

"It's ok to cry Tony." She assured. "But in your condition I wouldn't recommend shouting."

"Probably not a good idea." Tony agreed.

"I won't leave you on your own Tony." Gibbs assured the injured man. "I'll be here when you need me."

"Thanks." Tony replied with a soft smile.

"Anyway, I'll leave you to rest." Helen said. "I'll call again tomorrow, if that alright with you."

"I look forward to it." Tony replied with a smile.

Shortly after Helen had left, the nurse came in with the steroid treatment. Gibbs switched on the TV again to the Magnum PI day to keep Tony occupied while he breathed the steroids into his system. When the treatment was finished Tony did his breathing exercises and soon after that he fell asleep. Gibbs went to get coffee and then returned to the room. He too was exhausted so climbed onto the bed beside Tony and pulled the covers over him. Without waking Tony moved closer and snuggled into Gibbs and gave a content sigh. Gibbs smiled, closed his eyes and fell asleep.

_A/n: Thanks again for all the reviews and alerts. _

_I'm posting this chapter early today because I'll be gone for the weekend but I hope I'll get another one up tomorrow when I get home. _


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Sunday

The following the day started the same. Gibbs went out for breakfast and when he returned Brad was leaving the room. "What going on." Gibbs asked.

"Ah Gibbs there you are." Brad replied "I was just going to get Tony to cough for me but I wanted to wait for you. I'll give you both a chance to eat your breakfast and I'll come back."

"Ok." Gibbs replied and went into the room. He quickly laid out both breakfasts and then both men started eating. Half an hour later they were both finished and happily full. Brad returned with the mechanical chest vibrator and Tony groaned.

"It's for your own good." Gibbs scolded.

"I know." Tony sighed as he was rolled onto his side.

Brad started the device and soon Tony was coughing up the sputum.

"You're doing very well Tony." Brad praised as he tidied the equipment away. "Now you need the steroids."

"I know." Tony replied as the mask was fixed in place.

"One of the nurse's will be in to remove that later." Brad said as he left the room.

Gibbs switched on the TV and they watched a film. Later in the day Frank and Theresa returned and done some more exercises with Tony. Tony was again exhausted after these and fell asleep. He was woken 2 hours later when McGee and Ziva rushed into the room.

"There was another murder." Ziva said.

"Keep it down David." Gibbs scolded.

"I'm awake now." Tony said as he opened his eyes. "Who was killed now?"

"It was a Petty Officer Thomas Dunworth." McGee continued. "He was killed the same way as the lieutenant."

"What was he in for?" Tony asked.

"He had surgery on his knee." Ziva said.

"So both victims were immobile." Tony said.

"Ah yes." McGee said as he checked his notes. "The Petty Officer was not allowed put any weight on his leg and the Lieutenant was in traction."

"And both were pretty drugged up." Tony said.

"Yeah."

"Where did it happen?" Gibbs asked.

"It was just one ward over from here." Ziva replied.

"And where was the lieutenant?"

"2 ward's over." McGee replied

"Cross check anyone who was assigned to both of those wards." Gibbs said.

"And find out what ward they are on next." Tony said. "Candy stripers normally…..switch wards often to get more experience."

"Do what he said." Gibbs barked. "And keep me informed."

"Yes boss." They replied and hurried out of the room.

"What are you thinking Tony." Gibbs asked.

"Oh um just that I still think it's a….. female and I don't think it's a nurse or doctor."

"Why is that?" Gibbs asked

"Well, firstly they were killed with a…..pillow. A nurse or doctor would have….easier or more efficient ways to kill em. It was……someone who knew the hospital routine…..and waited until after the patients got their….meds, most likely because they weren't strong enough…..to do it otherwise."

"So do you think it could be one of the candy stripers?"

"It's possible."

"I agree." Gibbs said "I'll get Ziva and McGee to look into them more. Now go back to sleep."

"Yes boss." Tony replied with a grin and closed his eyes.

His sleep only lasted an hour as he was woken when dinner was brought in. The food wasn't as bad as it had been so both of them managed to eat some. Even so Gibbs went out to get himself something else to eat, leaving Tony alone.

A candy striper arrived shortly after Gibbs had left, to collect the trays.

"Are you finished these?" asked the tall, shy looking brunette.

"Yeah I am." Tony replied "Thank you."

"You're welcome." she replied coyly as she cleared up the trays.

"Have you been working here long?" Tony asked.

"For about a year." The girl answered. "I'm trying to get into med school and the more hours I've worked here the better chance I have of getting in."

"Wow, so what kind of hours do you work?" Tony continued.

"I come in here in the mornings before school for 2 hours and then for another 2 or 3 in the evening 2 or 3 days a week. And some weekends"

"That's a lot to be doing on top of school work."

"Yeah but it's worth it." She replied. "There are a few of us here who are trying for med school or for nursing."

"And why Bethesda?" Tony asked.

"Oh my dad is in the Navy and when he was injured a few years ago he was here. I wanted to help out here. It's the same with all the other girls, they are from military families too. There are 6 of us"

"That's very good of you." Tony smiled.

"So why are you in Bethesda, you don't exactly look military."

"I work for NCIS so I get to go here."

"And what happened you." She asked curiously.

"I was shot and then fell and broke my back."

"So are you going to be ok or…"

"I'll be fine. I'm getting feeling back in my legs now."

"That's good to hear. Well I'd better get going before I get in trouble." She said. "Take care of yourself."

"Yeah you too." Tony replied "What was your name."

"It's Melissa." She replied with a smile "And yours"

"I'm Tony."

"Well it was nice to meet you."

"You too." Tony replied as she hurried out the door.

Gibbs returned half an hour later to find Tony with the mask for the steroids over his face.

"Hey how long has that been on." He asked

"15 minutes." Came the muffled replied from under the mask.

Gibbs ruffled Tony's hair and turned on the TV for him.

20 minutes later a nurse returned and removed the mask. She then gave Tony his meds.

"What did you get to eat?" Tony asked Gibbs when the nurse had left.

"Just a burger and fries." Gibbs replied. "Did you get up to anything?"

"Yes actually, I had a chat with a candy striper called…..Melissa."

"Did you find out anything?"

"Just that the 6 candy stripers here, are all from military….families. They come in before and after school 3 or 4 days a week…..and are trying to get into medicine or nursing."

"Good work Tony." Gibbs replied with a grin as the door opened.

"Hello Tony." Ziva greeted.

"Hey Tony" McGee added.

"What do you have for me?" Gibbs asked

"It took us a while to get the information because they are volunteers." McGee started. "But we eventually got a list of names."

"6 girls, all from military families." Gibbs said. "What else."

"We ah have their names." Mc Gee stuttered.

"Is that all." Gibbs barked.

"We are working on getting time tables for the hours they work."

"They normally work in the morning and evening." Gibbs said "Get the schedule of who was in on the days of both murders."

"How do you know all of this Gibbs?" Ziva asked. "It took us most of the day to get their names."

"Tony got the information." Gibbs replied "and he didn't have to move outside this room."

"But he spends most of his day asleep."

"And I'm still doing a better job than you Probie." Tony joked.

"You flirted with a candy striper." McGee scoffed. "I thought they would be a bit young even for you."

"I did not flirt." Tony defended. "I just asked her a few innocent questions. Her name…..was Melissa."

"Oh yes I have her on the list." McGee confirmed.

"I want you to set up interviews with all of them." Gibbs said.

"But it could be a doctor or nurse." McGee objected. "Should we interview all of them too?"

"DiNozzo thinks it could be a candy striper and I agree." Gibbs barked. "Get there home addresses and go interview them."

"Tonight?" Ziva asked. "It's Sunday night."

"Yes tonight, they are at school during the day and here after that. It'll be easier to get them at home at the weekend."

"Ok Gibbs." They both sighed.

"See you later Tony."

"Yeah see you later."

"Bye guys." Tony called as the door closed. "You were a bit hard on them boss."

"Someone else could be killed, Hell you could be killed for all we know."

"Na they won't kill me." Tony assured. "Candy stripers love me."

"Yeah I'm sure." Gibbs replied sarcastically. "Now get some rest you look beat."

"I am." Tony agreed and made himself more comfortable. "Night boss."

"Night Tony." Gibbs replied as Tony eyes closed and his breathing evened out.

Gibbs sat back and grabbed his book and started to read.

Ziva and McGee got the home addresses for the six girls. 2 of the girls lived near Washington Navy yard one of which was Melissa so they decided to go there first.

When they reached the house Ziva knocked at the door and they waited for an answer.

They were greeted a few minutes later by a large man about Gibb's age.

"Lieutenant Commander Browne." Ziva said.

"That's me." He replied "What can I do for you."

"We are with NCIS." McGee explained as they both showed their id's "We want to talk to your daughter Melissa regarding some deaths in Bethesda hospital."

"Melissa volunteers at Bethesda." He confirmed. "Come on in I'll call here."

The two agents entered the house and waited in the living room. A few minutes later the Commander returned followed by his daughter.

"Hi Melissa." Tim greeted. "We need to ask you a few questions about the 2 murders in Bethesda hospital."

"Oh um sure." She replied "I don't know much about them."

They all took seats and then they started with the questions.

"Were you working on the morning of both murders?" Ziva asked.

"I was working this morning." Melissa confirmed "but I wasn't working the morning of the first one."

"And why was that?" McGee asked.

"I had an exam at school that day. I didn't work the day before either but I was in later that evening, after school."

"Have you noticed anyone acting strange?" Ziva questioned.

"What do you mean by strange?"

"Anyone sneaking around, or paying attention to a particular patient." Ziva explained

"No I don't think so. We usually don't talk to the patients too much. We only collect dinner trays or tidy up the room, that sort of thing."

"If you notice anything, please let us know." McGee said and handed her his card.

"Do you guys know Tony." Melissa asked as they stood up. "He's in Bethesda at the moment."

"Yes we do." Ziva replied "He is on our team."

"I was in his room today." She continued. "He's a nice guy but he seemed sad."

"Well he is in the hospital." Her father said.

"I don't think that was it." Melissa said glaring at her father.

"His girlfriend and their child died a few days ago." McGee said sadly.

"Oh." Melissa replied sadly. "Were they shot as well?"

"No." Tim replied. "Tony was already in the hospital when it happened. Drunk driver hit them."

"Oh sorry." Melissa replied. "I'll let you know if I notice anything weird."

"Ok thanks." Ziva replied and they both left the house.

They next went to Ruth Pennello who lived a few houses away. Again they knocked and waited for an answer. This time a woman answered

"Petty Officer Pennello." McGee said.

"Yes."

"We are from NCIS and we were looking to speak to your daughter Ruth."

"Yes of course. Come in." she replied. "What is this about?"

"We are investigating 2 murders at Bethesda hospital?" McGee said

"And you think Ruth has something to do with it?" she gasped.

"No ma'am but we need to question everyone." McGee assured.

"Alright." She said as she led them to the sitting room. "Ruth these people are here to talk to you."

"Oh hey." Ruth a blonde, bubbly girl greeted happily. "What's up."

"We are here to question you about the 2 murders in Bethesda." Ziva said

"Oh I only heard about 1 of those." She replied.

"There was another this morning." McGee added.

"Oh no." she gasped "that's terrible. I wasn't in today because I was in a play last night and it ended late. Do you know who did it?"

"No but we think it's the same person who killed both people." McGee said.

"That's sucks, I saw the guy who was murdered, well the first guy. I was in his room when he woke up after surgery."

"Did you notice anyone acting strange around him?" Ziva asked.

"No I don't think so. I'm not really around patients that much."

"Why do you volunteer." Ziva asked.

"It looks good on college applications." She replied "My GPA is 4.0 and I'm involved in loads of groups. I've worked as a candy striper in a few hospitals at the bases where Mon was stationed, so when I volunteered here they took me on straight away."

"If you see anything strange, please give us a call." McGee said handing out another card.

"I will." Ruth replied as she took the card.

The agents headed for their car and then drove to a housing estate outside of Bolling Air Force base where another 2 of the girls were living.

The first was Juliet Ford. When they knocked on the door it was Juliet here self who answered. She was of average height with loose dark blonde curls framing a very pretty face.

They again asked the same questions and learned that Juliet had been working on the morning of both murders, but again she said she didn't notice anything strange.

She was volunteering because her mother made her do it years ago and she started to enjoy it, so continued.

After giving out another card they went to the next house. This house belonged to Major Purcell, his wife Captain Purcell and their 2 children Rose and Charlie.

"Major Purcell." McGee greeted as they should their ID's.

"Ah crap what did that boy do now?"

"Actually we are here to speak to your daughter about some murders in Bethesda." Ziva said.

"You want to talk to Rose." The Major confirmed. "Alright come in she's in the kitchen"

They led to the kitchen where a short girl with short black hair stood washing the dishes.

"Rose these people from NCIS need to speak to you." The Major said when they had entered.

"Oh, ok." She replied meekly "What can I do for you."

"You were volunteering at Bethesda the mornings of both murders." Ziva said. "Did you notice anything unusual or strange?"

"I don't think so." She replied nervously.

"Why do you volunteer there?" McGee asked.

"I need extra credits to get into college." Rose replied "It looks good on an application."

"What do you want to do in college?" Ziva asked.

"I want to study law." She replied. "I'm not really sure yet what direction I'll take."

"Ok thank you for your time." McGee said and handed her his card. "Please call if you think of anything."

"4 down 2 to go." McGee replied. "We might even get some sleep tonight."

"That would be nice." Ziva replied with a yawn. "This is a waste of time, do we really think it could be one of these little girls."

"Tony seems to think so." McGee sighed.

"Yes well Tony is not thinking straight." Ziva said. "He is drugged out."

"Drugged up." McGee corrected. "But Gibbs seems to agree with him."

"Yes." Ziva sighed "Where too next."

"On base housing at Forth McNair." McGee said as he looked at his list. "To see a Janet Huston. Then to a housing estate near Bethesda."

"Why did we not go to the one near Bethesda first?"

"I wanted to get the ones that were further away done first. This way as soon as we are done we can get home."

"That is good thinking." Ziva agreed.

They soon arrived at the next house and knocked on the door. A tall red head answered the door.

"Hello, we are looking to speak to Janet." McGee said as he showed his ID.

"What is this about." The woman asked.

"We need to speak to your daughter about some murders in Bethesda Naval hospital."

"Well come in then." She sighed and then shouted "Janet there are people here to see you get your ass down here."

A minute later a younger version of the woman came running down the stairs.

"Janet, we need to ask you a few questions about the murders in Bethesda." McGee started.

"Oh ok sure, I don't know anything about them really, only what I've heard."

"Were you in either of the men's rooms at any stage?" Ziva asked.

"Um yeah I think I was in both of them clearing away trays." She replied nervously. "I didn't really talk to them though, they both seemed grumpy."

"Have you noticed anyone acting strange recently?" McGee asked.

"Um no I don't… oh actually there is one of the other candy stripers….um Rose something. She always looks really nervous and stuff."

"How do you mean." McGee asked.

"She's just always looking over her shoulder and she walks really quietly. I don't know it could be just the way she is. I don't really know her. I've only been doing this for a while."

"And why do you volunteer?" McGee asked.

"My guidance councillor said I had to." Janet sighed. "I got in trouble in school so instead of detention I have to do this."

"Do you like it?" Ziva asked.

"It's ok. I mean there aren't too many old people there, it's generally just navy guys who are hurt and so they aren't too bad to deal with."

"Do you like dealing with sick people." Ziva asked.

"No not really." She sighed. "I'm not good with people winning about being sick or what ever."

"Ok thank you for your time." Ziva said as McGee handed her a card "Call us if you think of anything else."

"Will do." Janet replied and led them out.

"Do you think Rose could have done it?" McGee asked when they were back in the car.

"No I do not think so, but she did seem quite nervous."

"Yeah." McGee agreed. "Let's get this last interview done and we can go home."

They arrived at the last house and knocked on the door.

A grey haired man answered the door.

"Hello Colonel Kennedy, we were looking to speak to your daughter Angela." McGee said as he held out his ID.

"Alright." He replied and led them in. He then called Angela and she arrived a few minutes later with her mother.

"What can we do for NCIS." Her mother asked.

"We are investigating the two murders that have taken place in Bethesda." McGee explained.

"Oh yes I think I spoke to you already." The mother said. "I'm Dr. Kennedy I work in Bethesda."

"Oh yes." Ziva said as recognition hit. "We spoke to you after the first murder."

"What does this have to do with me?" Angela asked. "I didn't kill anyone."

"We have to question everyone who was in the hospital during both murders." McGee explained. "Have you noticed anyone acting strange or out of character?"

"No I don't think so." she replied. "I mean it could be anyone right."

"Yes, that is why we have to question everyone." Ziva said. "How long have you been a candy striper?"

"About 2 years. I want to be a doctor so it looks good on the application. It helps to have community work on your résumé and this is the best for Med school."

"Are most of the other candy striper there for the same reason."

"Yeah I suppose. I know there is one girl who only started a few weeks ago; she's doing it as some sort of punishment. Janet is her name, she has long red hair, I think she hurt someone at school. She so does not want to be there and she is really rude to the patients."

"Angela is well liked in the hospital." Her mother said "She helps out a lot with the patients, which does not happen with everyone. She is very good at it."

"I know some of the girls need this for college. Is it the same for you or would you still get in without it." McGee asked.

"Um I need it to get in." Angela admitted "I need the extra credit."

"Did you have any contact with either of the murder victims?"

"Yes I um was in both of the rooms, helping the nurse's or collecting trays."

"Ok thank you for your time." McGee said and handed her a card. "Call us if you think of anything."

"So what do you think?" Ziva asked as they walked back to the car.

McGee glanced over his shoulder to make sure the door was closed before answering. "I think we have 3 possible suspects."

"We will have to investigate further tomorrow." Ziva said "For now let us go home."

* * *

_A/n: Thanks again for all the reviews and alerts I'll get around to replying soon I promise_


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

_Monday._

McGee and Ziva returned to Bethesda at 8:30 the following morning to update Gibbs.

When they came in, Tony had the breathing mask on to take the steroids.

"Are you ok?" McGee asked worriedly.

"He's fine." Gibbs said. "It's just the steroids."

"Oh, that's good." McGee said. "Um, we interviewed those girls last night boss."

"And?"

"Um we have 3 possible suspects." McGee continued. "2 of the girls were not working during 1 of the murders and the other was in a different part of the hospital during the murders. "

"Tell me about the other 3." Gibbs ordered.

"First one is a Rose Purcell, daughter of Major Dan Purcell and Captain Maria Purcell. She seemed a bit nervous and one of the other girls mentioned that she is always looking over her shoulder."

"Her father seems quite strict and it may be due to that." Ziva added "we need to look into it some more."

"The second girl is Janet Huston. She was in trouble with school so is doing the volunteer work as punishment. According to one of the other girls, she possibly injured someone at school." McGee continued.

"We have an appointment with the school in 2 hours and we will find out more." Ziva added.

"And the last girl was Angela Kennedy; her mother is one of the doctors here." McGee continued. "She was too persistent that she didn't do anything."

"We also are meeting with someone from her school in 1 hour and we will meet with someone from Rose's school this afternoon." Ziva said.

"Anything else." Gibbs asked.

"We are meeting with the nurse who is in charge of the candy stripers in 5 minutes." Ziva replied. "We can then get a better idea of them."

"Get their rota's for this week. And make sure that they all come into this room at least once. We can get a feel of how they treat patients."

"Is that wise?" Ziva asked. "Tony is in no condition to defend himself."

"I'm fine." Tony objected although it was muffled through the mask.

"I'll be here with him." Gibbs assured. "We are not using him as bait. I want to see them without them knowing we are watching."

"All right, we will arrange it." McGee said as they headed out the door. "See you later."

"Do you think it is wise having the possible murderer in the room with Tony?" McGee said when he and Ziva were away from the room.

"No I do not." Ziva replied. "Tony is incapacitated as were the other 2 victims. He would be unable to defend himself if something were to happen. But I do not think Gibbs would put Tony in danger especially now."

"That's true." McGee agreed "He sees Tony as the son he never had but I'm just worried."

"As am I." Ziva agreed.

They quickly hurried to the doctors lounge where they were having the meeting. When they arrived Nurse McGrath was already there waiting.

"What can I do for NCIS." The nurse asked when they entered.

"Thank you for your time." McGee said. "We need to ask you some questions regarding the candy stripers?"

"Of course." She replied as they all sat down. "Are you interested in all of them of just certain ones?"

"3 in particular." Ziva replied "Rose Purcell, Janet Huston and Angela Kennedy."

"Rose is a very sweet girl but she tends to be very nervous. She has been working here for over a year on and off. Do you think she could be involved in the murders?"

"We think it may have been a volunteer of some sort. One who knows the routine."

"The candy stripers would know the routines best." She agreed. "But I really don't think Rose could have had anything to do with it. Besides she spent the entire morning yesterday with me down in the basement putting away files. She was with me from the time she started until she went home."

"Thank you." McGee said. "What can you tell us about Janet?"

"Janet has some issues at school so as punishment has to volunteer here. She really doesn't like it and we do not have her working with the patients if possible. She has a temper that's for sure and has some run ins with some patients and a nurse or two. She especially hates dealing with patients who need help with anything."

"Such as people who are restricted to bed." Ziva said. "Can you account for her whereabouts on the mornings of either murder?"

"No I can't." she replied "Yesterday she was assigned to deliver and collect breakfast trays and to clean up the rooms. I'd have to check on what she was doing last week."

"What about Angela." Ziva asked.

"I can't account for her whereabouts either." Nurse McGrath replied.

"Can you tell us something about her?"

"Angela's mother is a doctor her so Angela always seems to get preferential treatment from some members of staff."

"But not you." McGee said seeing the look on the nurse's face.

"No I don't treat her any different than I do the others. I make her do the exact same things and I can tell you she doesn't like it. I have had some patients make complaints about her but they always seemed to be swept under a rug because of her mother. I gave her a final warning 2 weeks ago and if she does anything she will be out on her ear and she won't be getting into college."

"She won't get into college without this job." McGee asked.

"No, as far as I know her grades are barely high enough so without this she won't stand a chance."

"Do you think either Janet or Angela would be capable of murder?" McGee asked

"I would hate to think it could have been either of them." The nurse replied. "But to be honest I wouldn't say no."

"We have an agent in here in room 212." McGee said. "Would it be possible to have both of these girls assigned to his room?"

"Yes I can do that." She replied and pulled out a rota. "Melissa is assigned to the room today but I will change it tomorrow and rotate them each day. Is your agent ill?"

"Yes he is." McGee replied. "He has been shot, has broken his back, and has some problems with his lungs."

"Oh is that Brad's famous patient Tony, who had the plague."

"Yes that is him." Ziva replied

"Are you not worried that something will happen to him?"

"He will have someone with him at all times" McGee assured.

"All right then I will get that done and I will keep an eye on both of them." She assured. "Actually they are both scheduled to work full days on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday as part of work experience."

"Brilliant." McGee said "Thank you for your time."

McGee and Ziva then hurried off to the meeting at the school. They arrived at Angela's school just in time. They spoke to the headmaster and confirmed that Angela needed to volunteer at the hospital to get in to the college she wanted. They didn't find out much more. They next headed to Janet's school. They met with the headmaster there and questioned him as to what happened at school. He informed them that she had a fight with another girl and the other girl ended up in hospital. It was the first time that anything like that had happened but not the first time she had been in trouble at school. He also told them that it was either volunteer or be expelled. They then cancelled the interview at Rose's school as she was no longer a suspect. They returned to the hospital to update Gibbs and found Tony fast asleep with the oxygen mask on and Gibbs asleep on the chair.

"Should we wake him?" McGee asked.

"He will kill us if we don't." Ziva sighed and then softly called Gibbs.

"What's wrong" Gibbs asked quickly opening his eyes.

"Nothing is wrong." Ziva assured "Tony is fine. We just wanted to update you on the case."

"Go ahead."

"We eliminated Rose as a suspect." McGee said. "She has an alibi, the other 2 both have had problems with patients and both girls need to keep the jobs here and patients complaining them could cause them to lose their jobs."

"Set up interviews with both girls and see what you can find out." Gibbs ordered.

"Will do boss." McGee confirmed. "How's Tony?"

"Tired." Gibbs replied. "He's been doing physio and it's hard on him. Brad says his lungs are improving and hopefully he can go home in the next week."

"Wow, that's great." McGee grinned. "I'll bet he can't wait to get out of here."

"You'd be right." Gibbs smiled "Now get out of here and tell Abby to come visit this evening."

"On it boss." McGee replied and they headed back to NCIS.

Just after the two agents had left a nurse arrived and removed the mask. She checked his vitals and the tubes before leaving again. Gibbs switched on the TV and started watching a movie. It was just near the end of the movie when he heard a whimper coming from Tony. Gibbs quickly got up and checked on Tony. He was still whimpering and seemed to be having a nightmare.

"It's ok Tony" he assured gently. "I've got you. Wake up."

Tony opened his eyes and looked up at Gibbs and started crying.

"Hey it's ok." Gibbs said as he sat on the bed and pulled Tony into a hug. Gibbs continued to mumble reassurances as Tony continued to cry.

Eventually the tears subsided and Tony pulled away to dry his eyes.

"Sorry boss." Tony mumbled.

"It's ok Tony." Gibbs assured. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"It was just a dream." Tony replied with a sigh. "It was about Jeanne and Katie."

"It's alright to cry Tony, you have every right."

"I just want to go home." Tony mumbled.

"You are doing much better Tony." Gibbs assured "and as soon as your lungs are healthy enough Brad said you can go."

"Even if I still can't walk."  
"Yes you'll be staying with me until you get back on your feet." Gibbs said. "I'll get McGee and Ziva to move your things,"

"Gibbs I can't ask you to do that." Tony replied hesitantly

"You're not asking." Gibbs said. "I want you to stay with me for as long as you need to."

"Thanks Gibbs." Tony replied and leaned back against Gibbs.

They stayed that way for quite a while and only moved when Melissa came in with two trays.

"Hello Tony how are you today." She asked as she laid down the trays.

"I'm alright" he replied. "So what are they trying to poison me with today?"

"The usual." She replied "but I got you some extra jello you can eat."

"Thanks you're the best." Tony replied as he tried some of the food. "Not too bad."

"Glad to hear it." Melissa said with a smile. "I had a visit last night from two people who work with you. They were asking a lot of questions."

"Yeah they are investigating the murders." Tony confirmed.

"And they think it's one of the candy stripers."

"It's a possibility." Tony replied. "If you could maybe not tell the ….other candy stripers that I'm NCIS……it would be good."

"Not a problem." She replied. "I'm supposed to be on this ward all week but I've been changed. Janet and Angela are now assigned to your room so do you think it's one of them."

"Possibly." Gibbs replied "The rest of the candy stripers have alibis for at least one murder."

"Oh." Melissa replied "I'm sorry, I'm Melissa, are you with NCIS too."

"Yeah I'm Tony's boss, Special Agent Gibbs."

"It's nice to meet you." She said. "I actually thought you were Tony's Dad."

"Nearest thing I have to a Dad." Tony mumbled.

"That's sweet." Melissa smiled. "Anyway I'll leave you to eat your delicious dinner. I'll be back in a while to collect the trays."

"Thanks." Tony and Gibbs replied as she left the room.

"Everyone seems to think you're my Dad." Tony said as he ate some of the food.

"Yeah a few people have said it." Gibbs replied. "You know I do think of you like a son."

"Thanks Gibbs." Tony replied with a smile "And I think you of like a Dad, but not like my Father, no he was a bastard. You're like the nice Dad I always imagined."

"Thanks Tony, now eat up before the food gets cold.

They ate the rest of the meal in silence and again Tony only managed half of it but also ate the jello. Melissa returned a while later and took the trays. She said a quick goodbye and left the room. Soon after that Helen arrived.

"How are you feeling today Tony?" she asked.

"I'm fine." He replied with a small smile.

"Yes I'm sure you are." She replied sarcastically. "How is he Jethro?"

"He's doing ok." Gibbs replied with a grin. "He nearly has all the feeling back in his legs and the physio is helping."

"That's good to here and what about his lungs."

"Brad is happy with them. He said yesterday that there is some improvement,"

"That's good, I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to call yesterday, I was stuck with lawyers all day."

"That's fine." Tony replied

"I need you to sign some papers to get everything settled."

"Um ok." He replied hesitantly as she laid the papers in front of him. "Are you sure this is ok?"

"Yes Tony I am certain." She replied with a smile and handed him a pen.

Tony took the pen and signed his name to where Helen indicated.

"I'll get this back to the lawyers tomorrow and that should be that. I'll have the deeds for the properties and anything else you will need sent to you. Should I send it to your home address or NCIS?"

"I don't think I'll be at either for a while." Tony replied. "You can send them to Gibbs' house."

"I can arrange that." She replied. "Now I'll be leaving tomorrow after I speak to the lawyers. I want you, both of you, to keep in contact. I want to know how you are doing and how your health is."

"We can do that." Tony replied with a smile. "Thanks for everything Helen."

"I'm sorry we had to meet again under these circumstances." Helen replied and gave Tony a gentle hug. "Take care of yourself and remember that Jeanne loved you very much."

"She loved you too." Tony replied as a tear rolled down his face.

"Take care of him Jethro." Helen continued. "And thank you for everything."

"I will." Gibbs replied.

With a final hug for each of them she left the hospital and headed back to her hotel.

"Boss, there was a lot of money mentioned on those papers." Tony said after a while

"The Frog was a very rich man Tony." Gibbs said. "Don't worry about it for now. We can deal with that when we get home."

"Yeah ok." Tony agreed and relaxed a bit.

A nurse arrived a short while later to administer the steroid treatment. Tony fell asleep with the mask on and didn't notice Abby coming into the room. Gibbs got up and left Abby sit in his chair and then he quietly left the room. He was heading home to shower and change clothes before returning.

Tony woke when the nurse came to remove the mask and was surprised to see Abby.

"How are you feeling Tony?" she asked when the nurse had left.

"I'm ok Abbs." He replied with a grin. "Ah where's Gibbs."

"He went home to have a shower and change his clothes." Abby replied,

"Oh."

"I brought you a DS so we can play games for a while." Abby said as she pulled 2 out of her bag. "One for me and one for you. I have Mario cart."

"Cool I love Mario cart." Tony replied as he switched the DS on.

They spent the next two hours racing each other and by the time Gibbs returned both Abby and Tony were laughing and having fun. Abby left soon after Gibbs returned but left the DS for Tony. Tony was exhausted and soon fell asleep. Gibbs watched TV for a while before falling asleep on the chair. He was woken a few hours later when he heard Tony moaning in his sleep. Gibbs gently climbed onto the bed beside Tony and held the younger man. Tony soon calmed down and continued sleeping.

* * *

_A/N: Thank again for all the reviews and alerts. I'll get around to answering them soon but today is my birthday so it won't be today. Enjoy_


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

_Tuesday_

The following morning they both woke with a start when they heard a loud bang outside the room. Gibbs quickly hurried outside to find out what was going on. He found an over turned breakfast tray lying on the ground and one of the candy stripers cleaning it up. He quickly returned to the room and told Tony what happened. A few minutes later the same candy striper entered with two trays of food.

"That better not be the one that fell on the ground." Tony joked.

"It's not." The girl replied angrily.

"I was only kidding." Tony replied "So what's your name."

"Janet." The girl huffed and quickly hurried out of the room.

"Not a people person." Tony said as he pulled the tray closer. "I think the food is getting worse again."

"Yeah." Gibbs replied as he hit his rock hard slice of toast off the edge of the tray.

"I'll go get something edible."

"Thanks boss." Tony replied.

Gibbs hurried to get breakfast and returned quickly with pancakes for both of them.

Tony ate all of his pancakes but didn't touch the hospital breakfast. Janet returned a short while later and removed the trays.

"Why do I waste my time bringing them in." she mumbled quietly when she saw the food hadn't been touched.

"You try eating that." Tony huffed.

"Sorry." Janet replied "I didn't mean for you to hear me."

"It's fine." Tony replied

"I'll be back in a few minutes." Gibbs said and left the room.

"My dad's grumpy." Tony said. "He hates hospitals."

"Yeah me too." Janet replied.

"Why do you volunteer here then?"

"I have to or I'll be expelled from school." She sighed.

"Wow that sucks. I got expelled from school.....when I was 12 and got sent to Military school."

"My father has threatened to send me to military school if anything else happens at school, which is why I'm stuck here. I really don't want to go to Military school. I didn't even know girls could go to military school."

"Oh yeah they have a load of them now." Tony said "And believe….me you don't want to go there."

"Yeah I know and I keep screwing up here and I really don't want to be fired."

"In what way do you screw up?"

"Like earlier, dropping the tray and muttering under my breath and I'm not really good with patients."

"Ah I see. Well if something happens just count to 10…. before you react. It normally works for me but sometimes……I still want to kill someone."

"Yeah I know what you mean. My father got really mad last night and I just wanted to punch him."

"Why'd he get mad?"

"2 Feds came by to question me about the 2 murders here and he thought at first they were there about something else. He has a short temper."

"What murders?" Tony asked with a panicked look.

"Oh sorry I thought everyone knew."

"I was only moved here on Saturday and I've been pretty drugged up."

"Oh well I probably shouldn't tell you but there were 2 patients murdered here. One last week and one, just yesterday."

"Oh my God." Tony gasped. "Have they caught the guy?"

"No, I don't think they have a clue. I mean they were asking candy stripers about it. I mean, we wouldn't kill anyone."

"Well I sure hope not." Tony joked. "I really don't want to die."

"So what are you in for?" she asked with a smile.

"Oh I ah, broke my back." Tony replied with a small smile. "I'm getting some feeling back but I still can't move."

"Wow that sucks." Janet said as she looked him over. "So why are you on oxygen?"

"I have problems with my lungs, and having surgery made it worse. I can't breathe without the oxygen."

"That's too bad." Janet replied with a sad smile. "Anyway I'd better get going if I want to keep my job."

"Ok see you later." Tony replied as she hurried out the door.

Gibbs returned a few minutes later with a cup of coffee for himself and a cartoon of juice for Tony. "So do you think it could be her?"

"Hard to say." Tony replied "She does harbour a bit of aggression towards her father. Typical teen stuff, but she did seem surprised that the candy stripers are suspects."

"We'll keep an eye on her." Gibbs replied. "Brad is on his way to do your breathing and coughing treatments."

"Oh goody." Tony muttered just as Brad arrived in.

The rest of the morning was spent on breathing treatment and doing physio. After lunch Tony was exhausted and quickly fell asleep. Tony woke again when his dinner was brought in by who he assumed was Angela. He looked around and didn't see Gibbs.

"Your father went to get some dinner for himself." Angela said as she laid down the tray.

"Oh ok thanks." Tony replied as he looked at the food in front of him. "Wish I could go get something else to eat."

"Hey I don't cook it." Angela said angrily. "If you don't want to eat it then don't."

"I won't." Tony growled. "Your bedside manner could do with some work."

"Yeah well." She mumbled and hurried out of the room.

Tony sighed and pushed the tray away from him. Gibbs returned a few minutes later and laid out some food for both of them.

"Thanks boss. I really didn't want to eat that crap." Tony grinned as he started eating the food. "I met Angela, she wasn't very nice."

"What did you say to her?"

"Nothing, she told me you had gone for dinner and I said that I wished I could go out for dinner. Then she got mad and told me not to eat the food."

"We don't want them to want to kill you Tony." Gibbs replied with a smile.

"I'm just being a typical patient, besides I don't think they'd kill someone for not liking the food. If that was the case they would have killed me age's ago."

"That's true." Gibbs replied and they continued eating.

A half an hour later Angela returned to collect the tray. She quickly grabbed it and stormed out of the room.

"See, she really needs to work on her bedside manner." Tony said with a grin.

"How about we do a crossword." Gibbs suggested as he pulled out a puzzle book.

They had just started when Ducky and Palmer came into the room.

"Hello Anthony, how are you feeling?"

"Not too bad." Tony replied with a grin. "How are you, anything going on at work?"

"No it is very quite." Ducky replied.

"There have been very few cases." Palmer added. "We are catching up on paper work."

"Oh joy." Tony replied "I do not miss paper work."

"Yes well it has to be done." Jimmy sighed.

"Ducky, do you want to get some coffee." Gibbs said as he stood up.

"Oh yes Jethro that would be very nice." Ducky replied "I haven't had a cup all day."

The two older men continued talking as they left the room.

"So how's Michelle?" Tony asked Jimmy.

"Oh um ah, she's fine." Jimmy replied "She was asking for you today."

"That's nice" Tony replied. "So how are things going between you two?"

"Oh well um, I'm not sure." He replied hesitantly. "I get the feeling she is using me but I don't know why."

"Maybe she is using you for sex." Tony said.

"No I don't think that's it although there is a lot of sex involved."

"That's my boy." Tony grinned. "So is there anything .......more than sex involved."

"I thought so at first, but now I'm not really sure. I'm thinking of breaking up with her."

"Well at the end of the day, you have to do what's best……for you."

"Yeah, you're right Tony." Jimmy agreed. "I think I'll have to break up with her."

"I'm sorry man." Tony said sadly "But if you think it's for the best then……that's what you have to do. Besides that doctor I introduced you to, seems to like you."

"Thanks Tony." Jimmy replied with a smile. "So what have you been getting up to here?"

"Not much." Tony sighed. "Lots of medicine, lots of physical therapy and lots of sleep."

"You'll be back on your feet in no time." Jimmy smiled.

The two continued chatting until Ducky and Gibbs returned.

"Well we had better get going." Ducky said. "You keep out of trouble now."

"We will." Tony assured and soon it was just he and Gibbs left again.

"We need to find this killer Tony." Gibbs said after a while. "Tomorrow I want you to be as annoying as you can with both girls. If they are rude, threaten to have them fired. Do anything you can to get them to want to kill you."

"Ah boss, what if they really do want to kill me. I can't exactly defend myself."

"I'll be with you most of the time and Ziva or McGee will be hiding in the closet or in the bathroom whenever I am not here." Gibbs assured, "Don't worry we've got your six."

"That's good to know." Tony replied.

Tony had another steroid treatment that evening and then they spent the rest of the time deciding on what way Tony would act the following day.

That night Tony woke a few time calling Jeanne's name but again Gibbs soothed him and helped him go back to sleep. The morning finally arrived and they put their plan into action.

* * *

_A/N: Thank you so much for all the reviews and alerts. Hope you enjoyed this chapter_


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

_Wednesday_

When Tony woke Gibbs was gone and the nurse was checking his vitals.

"Good morning" the nurse greeted. "How are you feeling today?"

"I'm ok." Tony replied groggily. "Um do you know where my Dad went?"

"He's just gone to get you both some breakfast." She replied. "I know the food here isn't great so it's fine."

"Oh ok that's cool." Tony sighed.

"Now Dr. Pitt is back today and he has you scheduled for x-rays this morning." She advised. "After that you will have physical therapy for a while and of course you'll have your breathing treatments."

"Busy day." Tony sulked.

"I know it's tough." She smiled. "We are going to have a candy striper with you most of the day to keep you company."

"Great thanks." Tony muttered.

"I'll be back after your breakfast to get you ready." She said as she left the room.

Gibbs arrived back a short while later and laid out the breakfast.

"Smells good boss." Tony said as he started pulling the tray towards him.

"Dig in." Gibbs instructed as he started eating his own food.

"Mmmm, delicious." Tony moaned.

"Eat as much as you can and you'll be able to rid of that tube." Gibbs said with a grin.

"I've been eating every day." Tony grumbled. "And we've let them know."

"You haven't been eating much for lunch." Gibbs said softly.

"Yeah well, they torture me all morning and then expect me to eat, Sorry but after all that, I'm just not that hungry."

"I get it Tony, I do." Gibbs replied "I'll talk to Brad today. He's been off the past 2 days so maybe he isn't aware that you are eating."

"Thanks boss."

"You have to start calling me Dad." Gibbs said as he started tidying up "Just in case someone walks in."

"All right Dad." Tony grinned and looked up at Gibbs. "You know I've never called anyone Dad before."

"What about your father."

"I had to address him as Sir or Father. He was never a real Dad anyway."

"Ah hell Tony." Gibbs sighed and gently held the other man's hand. "If it makes you uncomfortable you can call me something else."

"No it's ok." Tony assured as he looked into the kind blue eyes. "You'd have been a nice Dad so it's ok, really."

"If you're sure." Gibbs sighed. "Just make sure you let me know if you are uncomfortable with anything."

"Will do." Tony replied with a grin.

A few minutes later the nurse arrived back with both Janet and Angela.

"Have you finished your breakfast." she asked.

"Yeah just finished." Tony replied with a smile.

"That's good to hear." She replied "Now I've spoken to Brad so we are going to bring you down to x-ray now."

"Ok." Tony replied. "Dad you should go take a walk or go home for a while, I'll be fine."  
"Ok I think I will." Gibbs replied. "I'll be back in a while so behave."

"Of course I will" Tony replied indignantly.

"Let's get going." The nurse interrupted with a smile as they lifted the rails on the bed. "Janet and Angela, if you can push the bed please,"

When they had everything ready they pushed the bed out of the room and went to x-ray. When they arrived Brad was waiting for them.

"Ah Tony, there you are. How are you feeling?"

"I'm alright Brad, how are you?"

"I'm good Tony, the 2 days off were nice and relaxing."

"Wish I had two days out of here." Tony grumbled.

"Well hopefully that will happen soon. How has your breathing been?"

"It's ok, not as many coughing fits and it's easier to breathe."

"That's good. We are going to take some x-rays of your lungs today to see if they are ok. Then hopefully in a day or two we can take you off the oxygen.

"That would be great, how about getting rid of the feeding tube."

"We'll see." Brad replied. "If you've put on some weight I just might get it taken out."

"Cool." Tony grinned.

After a few minutes they had Tony ready and proceeded to take the x-rays. It took quite a while to get them as Tony kept coughing when he had to breathe in deeply.

Eventually they were done and Tony was brought back to his room.

"Alright Tony, Dr. Pitt should be here in a while with the results. In the meantime you just relax; Janet and Angela will be here to tidy up a bit so if you need anything just ask them."

"Thanks" Tony replied and settled back into the bed as Janet and Angela started tidying the magazines and other things that were lying around. They had just moved the locker out of the way to clean around it when Tony started coughing. He reached for a glass of water but found it too far away. He continued coughing as Janet and Angela just stood in shock watching. Eventually one of the other nurses came running in and helped Tony sit up and cough. She then grabbed the glass of water and helped him take a few sips. Tony lay back down exhausted and closed his eyes.

"Where you just going to stand there and let him choke to death?" the nurse shouted at the two girls.

"We didn't know what to do." Angela muttered.

"If you don't know what to do you come and find someone who does. Now for the rest of the day both of you are going to be at Mr. DiNozzo beck and call. If he needs anything I want you to help him."

"Ok." They both replied as the nurse stormed out of the room.

Tony lay as still as could, pretending to be asleep, hoping to hear the girls talking.

"I can't believe she yelled at us in front of a patient." Angela said.

"Well we did stand here and watch him nearly choke to death." Janet replied. "She probably wanted him to know it wouldn't happen again."

"Yeah whatever." Angela sighed. "Let's just get this done."

The two girls continued working until Gibbs returned. They were just leaving the room when Brad entered with 2 nurses.

"How did it go?" Gibbs asked Brad.

"Not too bad." Brad replied "Let's wake Tony up so I only have to go through this once."

"Sure." Gibbs replied and leaned towards Tony. "Tony wake up."

"I'm awake." Tony mumbled and slowly opened his eyes

"Brad has your X-rays." Gibbs said as Brad pulled out the x-rays and attached them to the light box.

"Your lungs are looking much better Tony." Brad said "As you can see here they are a lot clearer then last week."

"So what does that mean?" Gibbs asked.

"It means what we are doing is working, so for the moment we are going to continue as is. The physical therapist has asked to get you out of bed so you can start walking again and with the improvement in your lungs I don't see a problem with that."

"That's great." Gibbs said with a smile.

"Ok for now I want to weigh you and get some blood samples and check on the wounds." Brad continued as the nurse wheeled in a strange looking chair. "We are going to help you sit in this Tony and take your weight."

"Alright." Tony agreed and Brad and Gibbs gently helped him into the chair. Brad took note of the reading and then they waited for nurses to change the sheets. When that was done they helped Tony back into bed. They then gently cleaned the wounds and applied fresh bandages. Brad took some blood and checked Tony's vitals.

"Is everything thing ok." Gibbs asked.

"Yes he is doing very well." Brad replied. "His weight is still not where I'd like it to be so I'm afraid the NG tube will have to stay for another while."

"But." Tony protested.

"I know you are eating." Brad interrupted "And you have put on a little bit of weight but it still isn't enough. You are still 14lbs lighter that what you normally are and I know you had lost most of that before you were injured. But you need to eat more and until you can eat 3 full meals in one day the tube will stay in place."

Tony huffed but didn't say anything.

"All the incisions are healing well and there are no signs of infection. I want to repeat the x-rays in 2 days and if I can see improvements we will consider letting him home early next week."

"That's good to hear," Gibbs replied.

"For now we are going to give him another steroid treatment and then the physio will be along."

"All right." Gibbs replied. "Tony I need to look into some things, will you be all right on your own."

"I'll be fine." Tony huffed and Gibbs and Brad left the room.

"You should be with him for the physio." Brad said when the door had closed. "He still isn't going to be able to walk and it's going to be hard on him."

"I'll be there." Gibbs assured. "I intend to be back in a few minutes but we need to give him time alone with the candy stripers."  
"I really don't approve of using him as bait." Brad protested "But I understand why you are doing it. Let me know if there is anything I can do to help."

"I will." Gibbs replied and they both went their separate ways.

Gibbs quickly called Ziva and McGee for an update and then he called Ducky and Abby to update them on Tony condition. He then returned to Tony' room.

"Hey Dad." Tony's muffled greeting came as he entered.

"Hey Tony." Gibbs replied with a smile. "Do you have long left with the steroid treatment?"

"Bout another 15 minutes." Tony replied and then nodded towards the 2 girls. "I have 2 new friends, Janet and Angela."

"Hi." They both said shyly,

"Hi." Gibbs growled. "What are you doing here?"

"We've been told to keep Tony company for the day." Janet replied.

"That's good I have to go away for a bit after lunch and I don't want him on his own."

"Dad I'm not a baby I'll be alright." Tony protested.

"I know you're not a baby, but I'm not taking any chances." Gibbs replied. "Now stop talking and relax."

"Yes Dad." Tony replied and closed his eyes.

The next 15 minutes passed quickly and a nurse arrived to remove the mask. When she was leaving she brought Janet and Angela with her so Tony would have some privacy while he was doing the physio.

The physical therapist and nurse arrived some after and started doing the leg exercises. When they had finished with those they helped Tony sit up and swing his off the side of the bed.

"Ok Tony." The PT said "Gibbs and I are going to hold you on either side so you are not going to fall and Theresa is going to move the IV pole so nothing gets caught."

"Ok." Tony agreed as he looked to Gibbs for reassurances.

Gibbs moved beside him and gave a nod and a small smile to reassure Tony. Then both he and Frank the physio helped Tony to his feet. Tony knees immediately buckled but the two men held him steady.

"You are doing well Tony." Frank assured "Try to lock your knees and hold some of your weight."

Tony did as instructed and was soon standing although unsteadily. Gibbs and Frank both kept a firm grip on him and encouraged him to try and walk. Tony did this and managed to shuffle a few feet before his legs buckled again.

"I think that's enough for now." Frank said and they helped Tony back into bed.

Tony was exhausted so didn't complain and as soon as he was lying down he fell asleep.

"He did very well today." Frank said to Gibbs. "I really didn't expect him to be able to stand on his own, let alone take a few steps."

"He is determined to get better as quickly as he can, he doesn't like being helpless."

"That's good but we have to make sure he doesn't push it too much." Frank said as they checked Tony over. "And make sure he eats plenty."

"I'll try my best." Gibbs replied as they left the room.

It was nearing lunch time so Tony only slept for a short while before lunch was brought in. Thankfully it was soup and sandwiches so was somewhat edible. Gibbs gently woke him up and pushed the food in front of him.

"Not hungry." Tony mumbled.

"You have to eat Tony." Gibbs sighed. "You'll never get rid of that tube otherwise."

"Fine." Tony huffed and bit into the sandwich. He kept eating but was beginning to feel queasy so slowed down. Both Janet and Angela arrived in as Tony started on his soup.

"Eat it all Tony." Gibbs instructed. "I'll be back in a few minutes."

Tony continued eating the soup but was feeling worse by the minute. As soon as he had eaten everything Angela started clearing up the tray and Gibbs returned.

"Good boy you ate it all." Gibbs praised and turned to look at his agent. Tony had his eyes shut tight and was as white as a ghost.

"Ah hell." Gibbs swore and rushed over to Tony. Angela turned around to see what was wrong just as Tony started to vomit. The vomit hit the tray and the front of her uniform, as well as hitting some of Janet's shoes. Angela yelped and dropped the tray on top of Tony. This hit one of the incisions and Tony cried out in pain and continued to vomit. Angela moved as far away as she could and Janet hit the call button before grabbing a kidney dish and holding under Tony. Gibbs was holding him on one side and Janet the other. The nurse called for a doctor and then hurried in and took Janet's place. Tony finished vomiting and collapsed against Gibbs just as Brad rushed in.

"What happened?" Brad asked.

"He ate all of his lunch." Gibbs barked as the nurse pulled away the tray and started cleaning up. Janet rushed over to help her.

"Janet, can you bring in the gurney from the hall." The nurse said.

"Yeah sure." Janet replied and hurried out.

"Angela don't just stand there, go get cleaned up and come back here and give us a hand."

"Oh ah ok." Angela replied and she too hurried out as Janet returned with the gurney.

"Let's get him onto that." Brad instructed "And we'll get him cleaned up."

As Gibbs was holding Tony he gently picked him up and moved him to the gurney.

"Janet can you help me with the bed." The nurse said and Janet hurried over to help.

They quickly stripped the bed and put on clean sheets as Brad checked Tony over.

The nurse and Dr. Pitt then changed and cleaned Tony before helping him back into his bed.

"Is he alright?" Gibbs asked as he looked at the sleeping man.

"He'll be fine." Brad assured as he checked Tony's pulse. "The stitches didn't tear but he may be a bit sore later. He was most likely feeling sick and just couldn't handle the food."

"He forced himself to eat it, hell I forced him to eat it because you said he had to." Gibbs yelled.

"I know and I'm sorry." Brad sighed "I thought he wasn't eating due to grief. If he feels sick after eating a bit he can stop eating."

"Some of it is due to grief." Gibbs agreed "But when he is injured he loses his appetite. Pain killers don't agree with him at all."

"We'll keep an eye on that as well and we can give him something for the nausea." Brad said. "I'm just going to check the NG tube to make sure it's still placed correctly and then we can give him something."

"Alright." Gibbs agreed and Brad started doing his thing.

Angela arrived back a few minutes later and quietly entered the room.

"Janet why don't you go and get cleaned up too." The nurse said when she saw Angela was back. "Angela you can mop the floor."

"Sure." Janet replied "I'll only be a minute."

"This is so gross." Angela muttered as she pulled the mop over beside the bed.

"Everything is still in place." Brad said after a few minutes. "I'm going to get some nutrients into him and hopefully he will be feeling better this evening."

"Hopefully." Gibbs replied as Janet came back into the room.

"Janet would you mind staying with Tony for a while, I need to speak to his father." Brad said.

"Yeah sure." Janet replied and hurried over beside Tony.

"Just call us if he wakes." Brad instructed and he and Gibbs went out of the room.

"How did the PT go today?" Brad asked.

"Good, he managed to stand by himself and take a few steps with some help."

"Really, that's great. I didn't expect him to be able to do that much. I know you are investigating those girls but I do not want you to risk Tony's health in the process."

"I won't." Gibbs growled. "I'm not happy about it either but it's the best way."

"Just make sure he's safe."

"I will." Gibbs said and quickly hurried back into the room.

Janet jumped from the seat and let Gibbs sit back down. He had just taken the seat when Tony's eyes popped open

"Hey Tony, how are you feeling?" Gibbs asked softly as he held Tony's hand.

"Not so good." Tony admitted. "Sorry I puked."

"It's ok, it wasn't your fault. I shouldn't have forced you to eat when you weren't feeling well."

"Brad said you had too."

"I know he did and I had a word with him about it."

"Dad, don't threaten the doctors." Tony whined

"I will if it helps." Gibbs replied with a smile. "How's your stomach feeling?"

"My side hurts, but I don't feel sick anymore."

"Brad said it will be a bit sore because the tray hit the incision but there wasn't any more damage."

"Oh ok." Tony replied with a yawn.

"Get some sleep Tony." Gibbs instructed and went to move away but Tony wouldn't let go of his hand. Gibbs gave him a small smile and climbed onto the bed beside him. Tony rested his head against Gibb's chest and made himself comfortable.

"You girls can go now." Gibbs said. "Tony is going to be asleep for a while."

"Ok." They both replied and headed for the door.

"Hey Janet thanks for earlier." Tony called.

Janet gave a small smile and the continued on.

"I really can't believe that Tony's father sent him to military school." Janet said as she and Angela walked down the hall. "I mean they seem to get on so well now."

"Yeah I don't see either of my parents holding me like that if I was ill." Angela replied with a sigh. "Those two seem really close."

For the rest of the day Tony slept with his head on Gibbs. They put the steroid treatment on a few times but Tony remained asleep. He only woke that evening when Abby came to visit.

"Oh my poor Tony." Abby said when Gibbs told her what had happened. "I hope you are feeling better."

"I am." Tony mumbled tiredly.

"Can you stay with him for a few minutes Abbs." Gibbs asked and gently moved himself off the bed.

"Of course boss man." Abby replied and quickly took Gibbs' place on the bed. "I'm going bowling tonight with nuns and they told me to tell you they are praying for you,"

"Tell em I said thanks." Tony replied as Gibbs hurried out of the room. "How is the league going?"

"Really well." Abby replied "We are in the top three at the moment so we have a chance to win."

"That's great." Tony mumbled tiredly. "Did Gibbs tell you I walked today?"

"OMG no way, that's great Tony." Abby exclaimed. "No wonder you are so tired. You get some sleep and I'll just chat away."

"Thanks Abby." He mumbled and closed his eyes.

Abby continued talking and Tony fell fast asleep. Gibbs returned after a while and swapped placed with Abby. Ziva and McGee came for a visit later in the evening but Tony remained asleep.

* * *

_A/n: Thanks again for all the great reviews._


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

_Thursday_

Tony slept soundly until the next morning when Angela brought breakfast in.

"Hey Tony food is here." Gibbs said and nudged the younger man.

"Huh." Tony grumbled and slowly opened his eyes

"Breakfast." Gibbs said as he helped Tony sit up some more.

Tony reluctantly pulled the tray forward and started eating. He managed to eat a slice of toast and most of the cereal before he was full. He looked up at Gibbs to make sure it was ok to stop eating and Gibbs gave a small nod.

Tony pushed the tray away and settled back against his pillow.

"Sorry about yesterday." Tony said after a while. "I didn't get a chance to annoy the candy stripers."

"There is no reason to be sorry." Gibbs replied. "You are not working; you are in here because you are ill. Your health is more important than this."

"Thanks." Tony replied hesitantly.

"Besides." Gibbs continued. "I think you did a fairly good job of annoying Angela. She looked murderous when you puked on her."

"I really don't think it could have been Janet boss." Tony replied.

"And why is that Tony?"

"A gut feeling. I don't know, she just doesn't seem the type. Angela however is another story."

"I agree." Gibbs replied. "The nurse praised Janet yesterday for acting so quickly and Angela looked like she was going to kill Janet. The nurse also yelled at her later that day about it."

"So she'll want to kill me." Tony replied.

"No I don't think so. At least not yet." Gibbs replied with a smile. "Don't worry I won't let anyone hurt you."

"Thanks." Tony replied with a smile as Angela walked in the door.

"Have you finished your breakfast?" she asked.

"Yeah." Tony replied as she took away the tray.

"Are you feeling better today?" She asked.

"Yeah a bit thanks." Tony replied.

She gave a small smile and then quickly left the room.

The nurse came in a short while later with Janet in tow and changed the IV bags. She quickly checked Tony's vitals and then injected his meds into the IV port.

"Now Tony, we are going to give you your steroid treatment now." The nurse said as she started fitting the mask over his face. "Now I think your Dad could use some coffee so Janet will stay with you for a while."

"Ok." Tony mumbled and Gibbs gave his hand a quick squeeze and followed the nurse out of the room.

"Are you feeling better today Tony?" Janet asked when they were alone.

"Yeah a bit." He replied. "Sorry I puked on you."

"It's fine." She replied. "Actually I wasn't as grossed out as I thought I'd be. And because I acted quickly the nurses let me help them with patients for the rest of the day and it was really cool."

"That's good." Tony mumbled. "What about Angela."

"Oh um she didn't handle it too well and made some comments about it being gross so she spent the rest of the day filing."

"I hate filing."

"Yeah me too." Janet agreed. "Can I ask you a question? You don't have to answer if you don't want to just tell me to mind my own business."

"Ok ask."

"I noticed that you and your dad were really close and I wondered if that happened after military school. I know you didn't get on before he sent you there."

"Yeah I suppose." Tony replied. "I grew up a lot while I was there so we got on better when I came back, although…..to be honest we didn't see each other much. I went off to college and then got a job…….I never lived near to him. But I moved near him a few years ago and now we are very close."

"I wish I could be like that with my Dad." Janet sighed. "He seems to get angry no matter what I do and that makes me angry and I act out."

"It happens a lot. I still annoy my dad the whole time…….and we still get on each other's nerves but I know he's there for me if I need him."

"Like now." Janet asked.

"Yeah like now." Tony replied with a small smile.

"You should rest while you have that mask on." Janet said to him after a minute.

"Yeah." Tony agreed and they lapsed into a comfortable silence.

Half an hour later the nurse returned and removed the mask.

"Your Dad said he would be back soon." She said to Tony. "He said to call if you needed him."

"Thanks." Tony replied and she left the room again.

"My dad isn't like that with me even when I'm sick." Janet sighed.

"My girlfriend and our daughter died last week." Tony said softly. "He's just being protective of me. Plus my lungs are bad so when I got pneumonia it scared him. I nearly died the last time it happened."

"Oh Tony I'm so sorry," Janet said. "Here I am whining about my father. I'm sorry."

"Hey it's ok really." Tony replied "I don't want to think about it so I like talking about other things."

"Are you sure." Janet asked. "I don't want to be insensitive or anything."

"I'm sure." Tony replied. "Now tell me about you family."

Janet told Tony all about her family and the trouble she got into in school. The more she talked the more Tony believed she was innocent and that left Angela as their prime suspect.

Gibbs returned an hour later and had some bags with him.

"What have you got?" Tony asked curiously.

"I brought you some clothes you can change into." Gibbs said and pulled out some shorts and a t-shirt. "It'll be better to be wearing these when you are walking around."

"Cool." Tony grinned "I hate hospital gowns."

"I also brought some more books and DVD's and also some crossword puzzles. And some clothes for me."

"I'll just go talk to the nurse, I'll be back soon." Janet said and hurried out of the room.

"Did you find out anything?" Gibbs asked.

"No not really." Tony replied "But I seriously don't think it was Janet. And Angela wasn't too happy that Janet got picked over her yesterday. I think we play up on that a bit."

"Agreed. Whenever she comes in ask for Janet. And make a big deal about what happened yesterday but only if you are alone with her."

"Will do." Tony agreed just as the nurse returned.

"Tony, Dr. Pitt has asked one of the urologists to come and have a look at you this morning" She said "She will be here in about 10 minutes and then you will have the PT."

"Why does he want the urologist to look at him?" Gibbs asked. "What's wrong?"

"There is nothing wrong." The nurse assured. "Tony is not producing as much urine as we would expect. A loss of blood can sometimes cause problems with the kidneys as could the fall he took. Dr. Pitt wants to make sure everything is ok."

"Alright." Gibbs sighed and looked back at Tony who seemed quite calm.

"It'll be fine." Gibbs assured Tony as soon as the nurse left.

"I know." Tony agreed. "Brad is just being careful."

15 minutes later a Doctor came into the room accompanied by Angela.

"Hello I'm Dr. Kennedy the urologist. Dr. Pitt asked me check on you kidney function."

"Hi." Tony replied,

"I'm Tony's father." Gibbs said standing up.

"Hello." Dr. Kennedy greeted. "This is Angela, she is a candy striper and will be helping me today."

"Where is Janet?" Tony asked and gave Gibbs a quick glance "I thought she was going to be my candy striper."

"Angela is very capable." Dr. Kennedy assured.

"I'd still prefer Janet." Tony mumbled.

"Give Angela a chance. I'm sure you'll like her once you spend some time with her."

"I've already given her a chance and I'd prefer Janet to be here."

"I'm afraid Janet isn't available at the moment." Dr. Kennedy replied angrily.

"Fine Angela will do for now but I want Janet back." Tony huffed.

"We will be back in a few minutes with the ultra sound machine." Dr. Kennedy advised and both she and Angela hurried out.

"That's her mother." Tony said as soon as the door closed.

"I know." Gibbs replied. "Try not to antagonise her too much."

"I'll try not to" Tony grinned.

Meanwhile Dr. Kennedy and Angela went to get the machine.

"What does that man have against you?" She asked Angela

"I don't know." Angela replied "I haven't spent much time with him."

"Well make sure you treat him well. He is a very important patient and if he doesn't want you with him it could affect how the other Doctors treat you, especially Dr. Pitt."

"Why Dr. Pitt." Angela asked.

"He is friends with Tony and is very protective of him." Dr, Kennedy replied as they wheeled the machine in. "Now do exactly what I tell you."

"Now Mr. DiNozzo." She said turning to her patient. "We are going to take some blood and urine samples for testing and then we are going to do an ultra sound of your kidneys and bladder."

"Ok." Tony replied as she came towards him with a syringe.

Gibbs held his hand as the doctor cleaned the area and then inserted the needle.

She quickly withdrew 3 vials of blood and handed them to Angela.

"Ok now I'm just going to take the urine from the catheter." She said as she attached the syringe and withdrew the urine. Again she handed the sample to Angela.

"Ok Tony now for the ultra sound. This won't hurt but it will be cold. First I need you to turn onto your side."

Tony did as instructed with some help from Gibbs and the Doctor undid his gown to expose his back. She then squirted on the gel and spread it around. She switched on the machine and started taking pictures of his kidney. She then cleaned him up and had him roll onto his other side and she repeated the procedure.

"Alright Tony next I need you to lie on your back and we'll get your bladder."

Again Gibbs helped Tony to move and the doctor lifted up the gown and pushed the sheet down slightly just leaving it just about covering his groin.

Again it'll be cold but won't hurt." She said as she spread the gel.

She pushed down on his bladder and took a few pictures.

"You did very well Tony." She said as she cleaned him up and then covered him up.

"What's the verdict?" Gibbs asked as he helped Tony to sit up.

"Well I will have to wait for the results first but his kidneys appear to fine. They are the right size and I can see no scaring."

"That's good." Gibbs sighed.

"Yes it is" the doctor replied and headed for the door. "Angela can you keep Tony company for a few minutes, there are few things his father needs to sign."

"Yes of course." Angela replied with a big smile as they headed out the door.

"Is there anything I can do for you Tony?" Angela asked.

"No I'm fine." Tony replied and closed his eyes.

"Are you sure, I can get you some water or switch on the TV for you."

"I'm good." Tony replied without opening his eyes.

"Do you want to talk or something?" She asked sweetly. "Janet said you were talking to her this morning."

"I'm kinda tired." Tony replied and again kept his eyes closed.

"Fine." Angela huffed and sat in the chair. After a minute of silence she kept huffing and sighing and it was starting to annoy Tony.

"Can you please be quite?" Tony asked opening his eyes slightly just in time to see Angela rolling her eyes. "Look I'm tired and I want to sleep. If you don't want to be here then leave."

"But I was told to stay here." Angela protested.

"Then be quite." Tony huffed and closed his eyes.

A few minutes later Angela sighed again and picked up a magazine. She then started turning the pages nosily.

"Seriously, if you can't be quite then get out." Tony yelled after a minute. "When I see Brad tomorrow I'll tell him I don't…..want you near me again."

"Please don't do that." Angela said "I'll be quite just please don't tell him about this."

"Get out." Tony barked as the monitors beside him started beeping franticly.

A nurse came running into the room just as Angela hurried out.

"What's going on?" Gibbs asked as he hurried towards the room.

"He ah, I don't know." Angela stuttered.

Gibbs hurried into the room and saw the nurse placing an oxygen mask over Tony's face.

"What's wrong?" Gibbs asked.

"He's fine." The nurse assured "He was just a little sort of breathe but he'll be fine in a few minutes."

"Thank god." Gibbs mumbled as he sat in the chair.

The nurse checked a few more things and left the room.

"What happened Tony?" Gibbs asked after a few minutes.

"I think she'll……try to kill me tonight." Tony gasped.

"Ok you just relax. I'll take care of everything."

The nurse returned a few minutes later and replaced the mask with the nasal cannula.

"Your PT is scheduled for half an hour time." The nurse said. "If you don't feel up to it let me know and I can cancel it."

"I'm fine." Tony assured and she left the room.

Tony dozed off and woke when Frank and Theresa arrived for the PT.

"Are you ready for today's session?" Frank asked.

"He's a bit tired." Gibbs said as he helped Tony change in the shorts and t-shirt. "He had a problem with his breathing a while ago but he's alright now."

"Ok Tony, if you need to stop just tell us and we will."

"Alright." Tony replied as they started the leg exercises.

After that they again helped him sit on the edge of the bed. When he had his feet on the floor they helped him to stand and this time he managed to stay standing on his own.

"Do you think you can walk?" Frank asked.

Tony nodded and proceeded to slide one foot forward and then the other. He managed 2 steps before he started swaying and Gibbs and Frank caught him.

"I'm ok." Tony assured and took another step.

"That's enough for today." Theresa said to Tony.

"I can take another step." Tony protested and again moved forward. He again managed 2 steps before his legs gave out again.

"I think that's enough." Tony panted and Gibbs and Frank quickly helped him into bed.

"You did very well Tony." Frank praised as he scribbled some notes on Tony's chart. "I'm amazed at how quickly you are progressing."

"Yeah he tends to do that a lot." Gibbs replied with a smirk.

"Ok, rest up Tony." Frank said "We'll do some more tomorrow."

"Thanks." Tony mumbled tiredly.

"He really is doing very well." Frank said to Gibbs as they walked towards the door. "Make sure he gets plenty of rest."

"I will" Gibbs assured and then headed back to his seat.

"How are you feeling Tony?" he asked softly.

"I'm tired boss." Tony admitted.

"Get some sleep." Gibbs ordered "I'll be here."

"Mmm." Tony mumbled already half asleep.

Gibbs picked up a magazine and started to read. He woke Tony a while later when lunch was brought in. Tony managed to eat a small amount of food before he again fell asleep. He slept through the day not even waking during his steroid treatments.

He woke again when dinner arrived and ate as much as he could. Gibbs went to the local diner and brought back a slice of Pizza which Tony also managed to eat.

"What happened earlier today?" Gibbs asked.

"Oh Angela was annoying me and I said I would tell Brad that I didn't want her around. She begged me not to and that's when I had trouble breathing."

"And you think she will try something in the morning?"

"Yeah. I mentioned I wouldn't see Brad until tomorrow so if it is her, I'd say she'll hit tonight."

"All right I'll have McGee and Ziva stationed near your room all night."

"Not too close of she might suspect." Tony added "Oh and she'll need to know you won't be here."

"I'll take care of that." Gibbs replied. "I'll have McGee in the head and Ziva outside with me. As soon as you think she is going to do something, you press the call button. I'll also tell the nurse's to hold off on your morning meds."

"Sounds good." Tony replied just as the door opened.

Angela quietly walked through the door and started collecting the tray."

"Are you sure you'll be alright on your own tonight." Gibbs said to Tony.

"Yeah Dad I'll be fine." Tony assured. "You have to leave me on my own at some stage."

"I know." Gibbs sighed. "Alright I'll leave you on your own tonight, but I will be back with breakfast in the morning."

"Just bring back something nice." Tony replied with a grin as Angela walked out of the room with a smirk on her face.

"That went well." Gibbs said after a few minutes. "I'll have McGee set up some surveillance. Try to get her to talk."

"Will do." Tony replied with a yawn,

"Get some more sleep." Gibbs said gently and soon Tony had drifted back to sleep. He didn't wake as McGee installed the cameras nor did he wake as they discussed their strategies. Gibbs stayed with him most of the night and only left in the early morning.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

_Friday_

When the nurse arrived in under the pretence of giving Tony his meds, she woke the sleeping man.

"Time to wake up sweetie." She called softly.

"Huh." Tony mumbled as he opened his eyes.

"It's morning." She continued as she checked his vitals "Your Dad said to wake you up but not to give you your meds just yet."

"Oh yeah, Ok." Tony replied. "Thanks I'm awake now."

"I'll see you in a while." She said and hurried out of the room

Tony glanced around and noticed the cameras in place. He took the call button in his hand and waited. He didn't have to wait long before he heard footsteps outside his room. He closed his eyes and feigned sleep.

Angela quietly snuck into the room and closed the door.

Tony slowly opened his eyes and looked around.

"What are you doing here?" Tony asked groggily.

"I need to make sure you don't say anything to your Doctor friend." Angela said as she moved closer. "I can't have you ruining my career."

"I wouldn't have to say anything if you just left me alone." Tony sighed impatiently.

"I need to make sure you don't say anything." She repeated with an insane gleam in her eye."

"What are you going to do?" Tony asked.

"It won't hurt." She assured. "You are just going to go for a long sleep."

"I won't say anything to him I promise." Tony pleaded.

"I can't take that chance. The others begged too and it didn't help them, why would it help you."

"You killed the 2 men who were murdered here." Tony gasped.

"Yes they were like you. They wanted a different candy striper and were going to complain me. I couldn't let that happen or I'd never get into med school."

"You're crazy." Tony mumbled.

"No I'm not" she growled as she raised a pillow in front of Tony "Now just relax and this will go much easier."

"Please." Tony begged but she quickly pushed the pillow against his face.

Tony frantically pressed the call button while struggling against the pillow. Although he hadn't taken his meds he was still fairly weak and couldn't get her away from him.

"Freeze, Ncis." McGee called as he rushed from the bathroom when he heard Tony's struggles.

"No." Angela screamed and pushed down harder on the pillow. "You can't do this."

"Leave him go Angela, it's over." Gibbs said as he and Ziva rushed in, guns drawn."

"No, no, no." Angela cried and started pounding on Tony's chest "I have to go to Medical school."

"You won't be going anywhere but prison." Ziva said as she pulled the girl away from Tony and handcuffed her.

Gibbs quickly removed the pillow from Tony face and called for a nurse.

"Bring her back to NCIS and leave her in interrogation." Gibbs said as he checked on Tony who appeared to be unconscious but alive.

The nurse quickly rushed in as Angela was lead out and quickly checked on Tony. She replaced the nasal cannula with an oxygen mask.

"He'll be fine." The nurse assured. "He was still getting oxygen through the cannula. I've called Dr. Pitt and he's on his way."

"Good." Gibbs replied and took a seat beside Tony as McGee collected the evidence. A few minutes later Brad arrived in and McGee headed back to NCIS with the evidence. Brad took Tony's vitals and examined him.

"He's fine Gibbs." Brad assured. "He's just exhausted and is sleeping. I'm going to get him to x-ray just to make sure everything is ok."

"Alright." Gibbs agreed as they got Tony ready and started to move him. Gibbs followed beside the bed and only left when Tony was getting the x-ray taken. They then returned Tony to his room and gave him his meds.

"He's going to sleep for a while." Brad advised as he checked Tony's vitals once again. "I'll cancel his PT for today so he can rest and I'll be back in a while with the results."

Gibbs nodded in response as he continued to hold Tony's hand. He stayed like that until Ducky arrived with some food for Gibbs. Gibbs reluctantly ate the food and returned to his vigil. Ziva and McGee arrived a few hours later to find Tony still asleep and Gibbs still sitting by his side.

"Has he woken at all?" Tim asked cautiously.

"No." Gibbs sighed "What have you got?"

"Angela admitted to everything and has signed a statement. She was taken into custody an hour ago." McGee said. "Abby is just filing the evidence and she will be here."

"Angela said the reason she did it was because her mother was pressuring her to get into medical school." Ziva continued. "Her mother has been informed of her daughters arrest and did not take it very well."

"Are the reports done?"

"Yes everything has been completed and they are on your desk." Ziva replied.

"Good." Gibbs replied. "I'll take Tony's statement when he wakes up and then get everything signed off. Take the rest of the day off."

"Boss." McGee questioned.

"It's been a long few weeks." Gibbs elaborated. "We could all use a break, so if you have everything finished, go home and relax."

"Yes boss." McGee replied. "What about you?"

"I'll be fine here." Gibbs replied and looked back to Tony.

"We'll call back later to see how he's doing." McGee said "And we'll tell Abby she can visit later."

"Yeah." Gibbs agreed and the two junior agents left the room.

Nearly an hour later Brad returned with the x-ray results.

"How is he?" Gibbs asked

"He is fine Gibbs." Brad assured. "Let's step outside for a minute to talk."

Gibbs reluctantly left Tony and followed Brad outside. "What's wrong?"

"There's nothing wrong, in fact everything is fine." Brad replied with a smile "I actually think Tony can be released tomorrow."

"Really." Gibbs asked in surprise. "But he still can't walk."

"We can make arrangements for him to go to a physical rehabilitation centre." Brad continued. "Or if there is someone at home to help him, he can go home. We can arrange for the physical therapist to call every day until he's back on his feet."

"He'll be coming home with me." Gibbs said. "I'll take care of him, but is his breathing ok."

"Its fine, we are going to take him off the oxygen in a few minutes, and we'll remove the feeding tube later this evening. We will give you an oxygen tank to keep in the house and he will also have to continue with the nebulizer and steroid treatments for a few weeks but at lower dosages. We will also keep him on a low dose of the antibiotics just as a precaution."

"He'll be delighted." Gibbs said with a small grin. "Crap I'll have to get Ziva and McGee to get it ready. Is there anything else he will need?"

"Just make sure he has wheelchair access and dealing with his lung issues will be the same as when he had the plague."

"Alright." Gibbs replied and pulled out his phone and dialled. "McGee I need you Ziva, Abby, Ducky and Palmer to go to my house and get the downstairs room ready. Get food in and get whatever Tony is going to need from his apartment. That includes his TV and DVDs. Tony is being released tomorrow."

"Yes boss." McGee replied and Gibbs promptly hung up.

"They'll have it done this evening." Gibbs said to Brad and headed back into Tony's room. Brad smiled and followed him.

"It's going to be tough Gibbs." Brad said as he removed the oxygen from Tony's face "On both you and Tony. Help him, but if he can manage something on his own, let him do it."

"We'll be fine." Gibbs assured just as Tony started to stir.

"What happened?" Tony mumbled.

"You're fine." Gibbs replied. "Angela tried to kill you and we caught her."

"Oh ok then." Tony replied and looked around the room. "Is she gone?"

"It happened this morning Tony." Gibbs replied with a small smile. "You've been asleep since it happened."

"Oh."

"Everything is fine Tony." Brad interrupted the conversation. "In fact I think you are ready to be released."

"What, really, when." Tony asked excitedly.

"How about tomorrow." Brad replied and the grin on Tony's face dropped slightly.

"Tomorrow, wow." Tony replied in shock. "I ah, I'll have to make arrangements first."

"Everything has been sorted out Tony." Brad said kindly. "You'll be staying with Gibbs until you get back on your feet."

"Boss, are you sure, I mean, I can go to a rehab hospital for a while."

"I'm sure; you'll be staying with me, no arguments."

"Alright," Tony agreed.

"You'll have a busy evening." Brad said. "We need to remove the stitches, the staples, your feeding tube and catheter and get lists of everything you will need to do at home."

"Ok." Tony replied with a smile. "Can I get something to eat first, I'm starving."

"I'll go get you something." Gibbs said as he stood up. "You missed out on lunch."

"Thanks boss." Tony replied as Gibbs hurried out the door.

"Am I really ok to go?" Tony asked as soon as Gibbs had gone.

"Why what's wrong?" Brad asked concerned.

"Nothing, I just well, I feel as weak as a kitten and I don't want to be a burden on Gibbs."

"He wants you to stay with him and he is aware of everything that will be involved." Brad said. "And although we are releasing you it does not mean you are better. I would still expect you to be tired and to sleep most of the day. You will still be on antibiotics, the steroids and a nebulizer. I just feel you will do better at home."

"Well that's true." Tony admitted. "I really don't like hospitals or hospital food."

"That's another thing Tony." Brad interrupted. "You need to eat as much as you can. We'll be cutting down on the pain meds so hopefully you won't be as nauseous. If you do feel sick tell Gibbs and he will give you something to help. You need to put on more weight so eat when you can."

"I'll try." Tony agreed. "At least I can get decent food. I mean really, how do you expect people to eat the crap they serve here."

"I totally agree with you but unfortunately the money people don't want to spend extra money on edible food."

"Ah it's all about money." Tony sighed.

"That's so true. Now I'll get one of the candy stripers to come in and help you get your things ready to leave."

"Cool." Tony replied with a grin.

"Behave." Brad called as he left the room.

Gibbs returned a few minutes later and with him he brought a large Pizza.

"Mmmm smells good, Pepperoni, sausage and extra cheese." Tony said with a grin

"Eat up." Gibbs instructed as he pulled out a slice for himself.

They ate in easy silence and Gibbs was delighted to see the Tony had 4 slices of the pizza. They had just finished eating when Janet arrived into the room.

"Hi Tony." She greeted and gave a small nod to Gibbs. "I'm told you are leaving. I was sent in to help get your thing organised."

"Yeah they are letting me go home tomorrow." Tony said happily.

"That's good to hear." Janet said with a smile. "I heard what happened with Angela, are you ok?"

"Yeah I'm fine." He replied "A little bruised but I'll live."

"That's good to hear. So where should I start, do you have any clothes to be packed."

"No it's just the gifts and some books and DVDs." Tony replied.

"I'll be back in a while Tony." Gibbs said as he grabbed his own bag. "I have to get you some clothes for tomorrow."

"Alright." Tony agreed and Gibbs hurried out.

"I want to thank you Tony." Janet said after a few minutes.

"What for?"

"I spoke to my father last night and we worked some things out."

"Why are you thanking me?" Tony asked confused.

"I never would have done that if I hadn't talked to you about your experiences with your dad. I saw how well you got on and I wanted that with my dad."

"So what did he say?"

"Well I told him how I felt when he yelled and why I acted out. He told me that he yelled because he was worried. So we agreed to talk about things instead of yelling."

"That's good I'm glad." Tony replied. "Hopefully things will get better for you."

"Yeah I hope so." She replied as she put some more cards in the bag. "Wow you really got a lot of cards."

"Yeah I did." Tony replied with a small smile.

"So are you going to your dad's house?"

"For a while anyway, I still can't manage on my own so I'll need help."

"That's good." Janet said happily. "He'll love having you around."

"I'm sure that won't last for long." Tony sighed.

"Of course it will." Janet assured. "He loves you and has barley left your side the whole time you've been here. He'll do the same at home."

"He'll have to take time off work to take care of me." Tony sighed again.

"I'm sure that he doesn't mind."

"You don't know my Dad."

"No not really but I do know he cares a lot and you are more important than work."

"I hope you're right."

"I am." Janet assured with a smile as she put away the last few things. "Now is there anything else you would like me to do for you."

"No I'm fine." Tony assured just as the nurse entered the room.

"Is everything alright." She asked.

"Everything is fine." Tony replied with a grin. "Janet here has been very helpful over the past few days."

"Well that's good to hear." The nurse replied. "You need to do your steroid treatment now."

"Sure." Tony replied and let her fix the mask over his face.

"I'll be back in half an hour." The nurse said and left the room.

"Would you like me to turn on the tv, or would you like to sleep for a while" Janet asked.

"I think I'll sleep for a while." Tony replied with a yawn "I'm a bit tired."

"Alright." Janet said and made her way to the door and turned down the light slightly. "I'll see you later, sleep well."

"Thanks." Tony mumbled as his eyes slid closed. "See ya later."

Tony fell fast asleep and didn't wake again until dinner was brought in.

In the meantime Gibbs had returned from Tony's apartment where he had met Ziva and McGee. He helped them get some things organised and then grabbed some sweats and a sweatshirt for Tony for his release tomorrow. He then returned to the hospital to find Tony fast asleep. He sat down and started reading a book and stayed that way until Janet arrived in with two trays of food.

"He's still asleep." She said quietly to Gibbs.

"Yeah he's exhausted." Gibbs replied.

"I'll just leave these here. He can eat it if he wants. It actually doesn't look too bad today."

"Thanks." Gibbs replied and gave her a smile and she left the room.

Gibbs pulled over one of the trays and lifted the lid. 'It actually doesn't look too bad' he thought as he picked up a fork and tried some of the lasagne.

"Mmm. smells good." Tony mumbled as he opened his eyes.

"Taste's good too." Gibbs replied and moved the tray in front of Tony.

"It's hospital food." Tony gasped in shock.

"Yup." Gibbs replied and continued to eat.

Tony picked up the fork and cautiously took some of the food. "Wow, this is good."

The two continued to eat until both trays were empty.

"I think that's the first hospital dinner that we managed to eat." Gibbs said after a few minutes.

"It was surprisingly good." Tony said as he took a drink of water. "I'm stuffed."

"That's good to hear." Janet said as she walked through the door.

"Hi." Tony greeted.

"You were right." Gibbs said "It was good."

"That's good." Janet replied as she cleared the trays. "I um, just wanted to say goodbye, I'm finished now and I'm off tomorrow."

"Oh." Tony replied. "Well thanks for everything and I hope everything works out with your dad."

"Yeah you too." Janet replied with a grin. "I hope you get better soon. Take care."

"Thanks." Tony replied and she left the room. "She's not a bad kid, just a bit misunderstood."

"I know." Gibbs replied and switched on the TV.

Soon after that Abby and Jimmy came to visit. They stayed a while and chatted before Gibbs kicked them out. They had just left when Ziva and McGee arrived. They stayed long enough for Tony to ask some questions about the case and then Gibbs kicked them out.

"I need to take your statement about this morning." Gibbs said when they had all left.

"Uh sure boss." Tony replied and then proceeded to tell him what had happened.

They had just finished when Brad arrived in with two nurses.

"Hi Tony how are you feeling?" he asked

"Not too bad."

"Good, are you ready to get rid of some of those tubes?"

"Definitely." Tony replied as the nurses lowered the head of the bed,

"Alright, first we will remove the NG tube. It will feel a bit strange but won't hurt."

Tony nodded as Brad removed the tape holding the tube in place. He then gently started pulling on the tube and it slowly slid out of Tony's nose. As he pulled the last part out Tony started coughing. Brad and Gibbs helped him sit up and held him until he caught his breath.

"Here drink this." The nurse said and handed him a glass of water.

When he had finished the water they had him blow his nose and then lie back down.

Brad carefully examine Tony's nose and throat to make sure it was ok.

"If you get a sore throat or nose, call me and I will come. Sometimes this can happen when the Ng tube is removed. Ok now let's get rid of the IV's and the catheter. Julie if you could disconnect the tubes and Anna if you can get ready for the stitches to come out, I'll remove the catheter."

Both nurses done as instructed and Brad removed the catheter as gently as possible but Tony still grimaced as it came out. Brad then removed the IV's and then moved to the stitches. He gently removed the ones on Tony's abdomen and then rolled him onto his stomach. They then removed the stitches and the staples from Tony's back before turning him back over.

"Now all done." Brad said as Tony settled back against the pillows. "I need to go through a few things with you now for when you are at home."

"Alright." Gibbs said as the nurses cleared away somethings and left the room.

"Ok first I'm going to show you how to use the Nebulizer and steroids." Brad said as he pulled out the mask. He then showed both of them how to use it and gave instructions of when to use it.

"The incisions will need to be checked to make sure there is no redness and you will also need to keep an eye on the urine output. We don't want any infections."

"Anything else?" Tony asked.

"You are not to try and walk by yourself." Brad said "Let Gibbs help you. You are to sleep as often as possible and you can lie flat now. I have a list made out of all the medicines you'll need to take and when. I spoke to Ducky and he will collect these and bring them around tomorrow. Oh and make sure you eat."

"Ok." Tony replied and shuffled on the bed.

"I think that's about it." Brad said "I will call to you on Monday to make sure everything is ok. Oh and if you feel short of breath use the oxygen. Especially tomorrow, all the moving around will be tiring."

"Thanks Brad." Tony said with a yawn.

"Thanks." Gibbs added.

"Get some sleep. I'll see you before you go in the morning." Brad replied and left them to sleep

As soon as Brad was gone, Tony turned onto his side and pulled the covers around him. "It feels good to not have any tubes coming out of me."

"Get some sleep Tony." Gibbs replied with a smile as he tucked the younger man in. "It'll be a busy day tomorrow."

_A/n; A big thanks to everyone who has reviewed . The next chapter is the last one._


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

_Saturday_

Gibbs wasn't wrong. As soon as Tony woke up he was given breakfast to eat and pills to swallow. He was then given a final bed bath before been given another exam. Finally after a few hours of poking and prodding they cleared him to leave. Gibbs helped Tony into the clothes he had brought and then into the wheelchair. It took quite a while to get to the exit as Tony had to stop several times to say goodbye to people.

When they finally got to the car Gibbs helped Tony to stand and then helped him into the front seat. The nurse left with the wheelchair and Gibbs loaded the bags into the trunk. They then started the drive Gibbs' house. Tony was surprised at how calmly Gibbs was driving and even fell asleep. He woke when the car came to a gentle stop. Tony opened his eyes and looked out the window. He was surprised to see his friends waiting for him. Abby and Jimmy walked forward with a new wheelchair as Gibbs got out of the car. Gibbs walked around to the passenger side and opened the door.

"Welcome home Tony." Abby cried as she ran towards him. She bent down and hugged him.

"Thanks Abbs." He mumbled and hugged her tight.

"Let him get out of the car." Gibbs said as he positioned the wheelchair.

"Oh sorry." Abby replied and moved back.

Gibbs quickly helped Tony get his legs out of the car and onto the ground. He then helped him to stand and moved him into the wheelchair.

"Let's get you inside." Gibbs said as he saw Tony panting from the exertion.

Tony nodded and the group quickly made their way inside. Gibbs helped Tony onto the couch while Ducky got the oxygen ready. When Tony was lying down Ducky placed the mask over his face and Tony gladly gulped in the oxygen.

After a few minutes Tony breathing was back to normal and he removed the mask.

"Thanks for coming guys." Tony said to the group who were now sitting in the living room.

"You're very welcome Anthony." Ducky said. "Now I fear I must leave you. I have to go check on Mother."

"How is she Ducky?" Tony asked.

"Oh she is her usual self." Ducky replied "She seems to like the new nursing home, which makes life a bit easier."

"Tell her we said hi." Tony said with a smile.

"I will." Ducky assured "Now you need to get some rest and make sure to take your medicine."

"I will, thanks Duck." Tony said and Ducky left the house.

"We should get going too." Abby said as he stood up. "You need to rest. We'll call around tomorrow and I can tell you how the bowling went."

"I'll be here." Tony replied. "Tell everyone I said good luck and I hope you win."

"Thanks Tony." Abby replied and gave him another hug.

"I'll call tomorrow as well." Jimmy said "I ah, have a date tonight with that Doctor you set me up with."

"Way to go Jimmy." Tony cheered. "Good luck and I want all the details tomorrow."

"Maybe." Jimmy replied with a grin and he and Abby hurried out the door.

"We will also call tomorrow." Ziva said.

"Get some rest." McGee added and they too left.

"Do you want to go up to bed?" Gibbs asked Tony after a few minutes.

"Actually I'm kind of hungry." Tony said "Can I get something to eat."

"Yeah sure." Gibbs replied and headed for the kitchen.

He returned a few minutes later with a confused look on his face.

"What's wrong boss."

"Oh nothing." Gibbs replied. "What would you like to eat?"

"Whatever is there." Tony replied.

"That's the thing." Gibbs replied with a grin. "The refrigerator is packed full of food, as is the freezer and all the cupboards. Ziva must have gone shopping."

"Oh um I'll just have a sandwich or something." Tony replied. "Ham or turkey maybe."

"Alright." Gibbs replied and went back to the kitchen.

He returned a few minutes later with a tray carrying 2 sandwiches, a glass of juice, a mug of coffee and 2 packets of crisps. He laid down the tray and handed a sandwich to Tony and took one for himself. They ate the sandwiches and crisps in silence and then had their drinks.

"Thanks boss, that was good." Tony said as he sat back.

"Glad you liked it." Gibbs replied "Do you want to lie down for a while?"

"Yeah that'd be good." Tony replied.

Gibbs got up and moved the wheelchair beside the couch and helped Tony into it. He then wheeled him into the downstairs bed room and helped him into bed.

He then fitted the mask for the nebulizer over Tony's face and switched it on.

"Get some sleep. I'll back in a while to check on you."

"Thanks dad." Tony mumbled and quickly fell asleep.

Gibbs smiled at his agent warmly. "Sleep well son." He whispered and left the room.

Gibbs spent the rest of the afternoon preparing dinner. At 6 he went to Tony's room and found the younger man still asleep. Although he didn't want to wake him, Tony needed something to eat and also he needed to take his medication.

"Hey Tony, dinners ready." Gibbs said

"Hey." Tony replied as he lazily opened his eyes "Mmm smells good"

Gibbs helped Tony into the chair and after a quick toilet stop they headed for the kitchen. There was already a space at the table and Gibbs wheeled Tony in there.

Gibbs then served up the roast dinner and they both tucked in. Tony ate nearly all of the dinner and even had some pie for desert.

"That's was good." Tony sighed happily when they had finished.

"Not bad if I do say so myself." Gibbs agreed. "Now let's get you into the sitting room while I tidy up."

"Sure." Tony agreed and soon he was settled on the couch with the TV turned on.

Gibbs returned to the kitchen and quickly cleaned up. He then returned to the sitting room with Tony's pills and a glass of water. Tony quickly swallowed the pills and water and returned to watching the TV. Gibbs took a seat at the end of the couch and watched the TV.

"Is this TV new." Tony asked after a few minutes.

"No, it's your TV." Gibbs replied with a smile. "I had McGee bring it over so you wouldn't be bored."

"Thanks Gibbs." Tony replied as he switched stations. He finally settled on an old western film and they both watched it in silence.

About half way through, Tony fell asleep and was soon lying on Gibbs shoulder.

When the movie ended Gibbs gently eased Tony off his shoulder and went to get Tony's bed ready. He returned to the sitting room and gently lifted Tony into his arms. Tony snuggled up against Gibbs as Gibbs carefully brought Tony to his room. He gently put him into the bed and then tucked him in. He ruffled his agents' hair and left the room. He headed down to the basement and worked on his boat for a few hours. He had just come back up stairs when he heard coughing coming from Tony's room. He hurried into the room and helped Tony sit up. The coughing eventually subsided and Gibbs left to get a glass of water and some pills. Tony gratefully took the water and took a few gulps. He then swallowed down the pills.

"You ok." Gibbs asked.

"Yeah I'm good." Tony assured and lay back down.

"Good, you need to take the steroids now." Gibbs said as he pulled out the mask.

"Do I have to?" Tony groaned.

"Yes." Gibbs replied and secured the mask over his face and injected the steroid.

"I thought I only needed the steroid twice a day." Tony complained. "I had it in the hospital and one after lunch."

"The one after lunch was Ventolin to help keep your airways open."

"Oh." Tony replied as Gibbs switched the machine on.

"Just relax." Gibbs instructed as he sat on the bed beside Tony. "Sleep if you want to and I'll remove it when it's done."

"Alright." Tony replied and closed his eyes.

Gibbs stayed where he was until Tony's breathing had deepened and he was sure Tony was asleep. He then went and locked all the doors and windows. He then tidied up a bit before returning to Tony's room and switching off the nebulizer. He checked to make sure Tony was still asleep before he went to his own room for his first night in his own in bed for quite a while.

He woke a few times during the night when he thought he heard Tony. He went to check on him but found him fast asleep each time.

_Sunday_

When morning came Gibbs got up and started cooking breakfast. When everything was ready he woke Tony and helped him get ready for the day and they then went for breakfast. Gibbs had cooked numerous things including pancakes and waffles. Tony happily stuffed himself with the food. Gibbs laughed at Tony's antics and then sat down himself and he too dug in. After breakfast Tony asked to go outside for a while. Gibbs reluctantly agreed and after Tony had taken his medication and steroids Gibbs got him wrapped up and into the wheelchair. They then slowly walked to a nearby by park. They walked around for a while and eventually Gibbs positioned the wheelchair beside a bench and he sat down.

"This is nice." Tony sighed "I feel like I haven't had fresh air in months. Well except for the funerals."

"Yeah." Gibbs agreed.

They sat there for nearly half an hour talking about nothing in particular. Gibbs had decided to head back when he saw a shiver course through Tony's body.

"Why didn't you tell me you were cold?" Gibbs growled.

"I'm not Gibbs." Tony replied honestly "I just got a shiver, like someone walking over my grave."

"We should get back." Gibbs said as he started pushing the wheelchair. "The team will be around later and you need to rest."

"Yeah ok." Tony agreed and they headed home.

After some lunch Tony went to bed and slept for the afternoon. He woke later when some delicious smells wafted into the room. He opened his eyes and looked around the room. The sun was shining through the gasps in the curtains, illuminating some spots on the walls and floor. He sighed and sat himself up. He was just about to swing his legs over the bed when Gibbs arrived into the room.

"What are you doing?" Gibbs asked

"Just sitting up and stretching." Tony replied with an innocent look.

"It's time to get up anyway." Gibbs said. "Do you want to try walking a bit?"

"Yeah I would." Tony smiled and with some help from Gibbs he managed to stand. With Gibbs supporting him he managed to walk to the bathroom and back again. Then with Tony in the wheelchair they headed for the kitchen.

"Dinner smells good boss." Tony commented as he breathed in deeply.

"The others will be here in a few minutes." Gibbs said as he laid out some plates.

"Can I help with anything?" Tony asked.

"Nah everything is ready." Gibbs replied as he pulled a roast beef out of the oven.

He put it on a plate and laid it in the middle of the table. He then put out potatoes, a variety of vegetables, some salad and gravy.

"Wow this looks great." Tony said looking at the food hungrily.

"Thanks." Gibbs replied just as they heard the others come in.

"Hi Tony, Hi Gibbs." Abby called happily as she entered the kitchen followed by the others.

"Wow everything looks great." McGee said as they saw the spread.

"Yes it looks delicious." Palmer agreed as he placed a pie on the counter top.

"Everyone take a seat and dig in." Gibbs ordered as he started carving the beef.

Everyone helped themselves and Gibbs got some up for Tony. They all ate happily and chatted about the weekend. Abby's team had won the game of bowling and were now top of the league. McGee had his next book nearly complete, Ziva had spent the weekend cooking and had brought a lot of the food with her tonight for Gibbs to keep in the fridge. Jimmy had gone on his date and had a fantastic time. He was going out again next week.

Gibbs was delighted when Tony asked for more and pilled more food on the plate. For desert they had some of the pie that Jimmy had brought and some ice cream. They were all well and truly stuffed and after the dishes were done they went to the sitting room. Tony managed to get onto the couch by himself and after Gibbs had given him his pills he sat beside him, with Abby on the other side. McGee put on a DVD and they all watched it. Again towards the end of the movie Tony fell asleep with his head against Gibbs shoulder.

"Aw that's so sweet." Abby gushed as she saw them.

"Yes it is." Ziva agreed.

"You should get him to bed Jethro." Ducky said. "I can give him a quick check up before I go,"

Gibbs gently moved away from Tony and then picked him up in his arms. Ducky led the way to the bedroom and turned back the covers on the bed. Gibbs gently lay Tony down and Ducky started his examination.

"He seems to be doing well." Ducky said as he finished.

Gibbs placed the mask over Tony face and started the nebulizer. They then left Tony to sleep.

"Tony seems much better now that he's out of the hospital." Abby said when Gibbs and Ducky returned.

"Yeah he does." Gibbs agreed. "He still has a long road ahead of him but we'll help him."

"Of course we will." Jimmy said.

After they all helped clean up, they headed home. They all had to go to work the following morning.

Gibbs finished cleaning up and after checking on Tony he removed the nebulizer. Tony woke up a bit so Gibbs gave him his pills and he quickly fell back to sleep. Gibbs then went to bed himself and both men slept through the night.

_Monday_

Gibbs woke early and again made a big breakfast but this morning unfortunately Tony didn't seem very hungry and was quite.

Gibbs cleaned up the remains of the breakfast and then helped Tony get dressed for the day.

"Do you want to go for another walk?" Gibbs asked when Tony was dressed.

"Yeah alright." Tony agreed

"We don't have to, it was just a suggestion." Gibbs said seeing Tony reluctance. "Are you feeling alright?"

"I had a dream about Jeanne and Katie last night and I just miss them." Tony replied sadly. "I know it's stupid, I mean, I barley new Katie and I hadn't been with Jeanne in months, but I just feel…….empty."

"It doesn't matter how long you knew them. It still hurts." Gibbs said. "Do you want to go the graveyard?"

"Yeah I'd like that." Tony replied and they both headed out.

Tony insisted that they stop at a flower shop on the way and he purchased 4 bunches of flowers. When they arrived at the grave yard Gibbs wheeled Tony to the graves and then went to leave him alone.

"Stay boss." Tony said as he looked over at Shannon and Kelly's graves. "Your family are here too."

"If you're sure."

"I am." Tony replied and slowly stood up from the wheelchair.

Gibbs moved closer to him and was in reach in case he stumbled.

Tony gently laid the flowers down for Jeanne and Katie and then laid the other 2 bunches for Shannon and Kelly.

"Does it get any easier?" Tony asked after a few minutes of silence.

"It gets easier to deal with." Gibbs replied sadly. "It never stops hurting but you learn to deal with it and eventually you will start thinking of the nice times you had together and be happy again."

"I hate thinking of them." Tony sobbed as tears rolled down his face. "It hurts too much to think about them, I feel so alone."

"You are never alone Tony." Gibbs assured as he pulled Tony into a hug. "You have your friends and you have me."

Tony continued sobbing for a few minutes before pulling away and collapsing back into the wheelchair.

"Thanks boss."

"I'll be here for you every step of the way." Gibbs said "We'll get through this together like a family."

"Like a family." Tony repeated as they headed home.

The End

A/N: A big thank you to everyone who has followed this story through. Thank you for all the reviews and alerts, they were much appreciated. I hope you enjoyed the story.


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